Every major innovation in communication, from landlines right through to video calling, all have one single thing in common. They all rely on a good quality connection. And as more conversations are happening using Wi-Fi, this reliance is only expected to grow.
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) has already made a significant impact on the communication industry with crystal clear voice and video calling. But with Wi-Fi 7 on the horizon, it could completely turn VoIP on its head.
Wi-Fi 7: The Next Evolution Of Wireless
Following Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E, Wi-Fi 7 is the newest generation of wireless networking. Its designed to have blazing fast speeds and incredibly low latency compared to its predecessors.
From smart homes to large Internet of Things (IoT) deployment, Wi-Fi 7 is expected to unleash the full potential of the hyper-connected world that we live in.
Once it arrives, here are some of the features that you can expect to see.
Ultra-fast speeds: It’s almost five times faster than Wi-Fi 6 with speeds reaching up to 46 Gbps.
Multi-Link Operation (MLO): Multiple frequency bands like 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz can be accessed by devices at the same time.
Less latency and jitter: For those who game online, use AR/VR and VoIP, it offers smooth and fast connections.
Does VoIP Need Better Wi-Fi?
Thousands of businesses have switched over to use VoIP for calling because it’s flexible and cheaper. Given that its highly scalable, it can also support small businesses who are still expanding.
But since it relies on the Internet to work, your VoIP experience will only be as good as your connection. The voice and video calls take place in real time which means any latency or jitter can disrupt the call and lead to plenty of frustrations.
How Wi-Fi 7 Can Improve VoIP Performance
Since Wi-Fi 7 is designed to handle the demand for high-quality and low-latency communication, it would be nothing short of transformative for VoIP. Here are a couple of ways that it could improve VoIP in the future.
Connections Are More Stable
In an office setting, employees are usually using multiple devices and engaging in a range of bandwidth-intensive activities. This makes it easy for the network to become very crowded very quickly.
But with Wi-Fi 7’s ability to use wider 320 MHz channels, it can support all of those devices without having the network quality compromised. So for those using VoIP, there should be fewer dropped calls even if everyone is online.
Low Latency For Calling
Latency has always been a weak point for VoIP because even just the smallest delay can cause the call to be out of sync.
Fortunately, with MLO as a feature of Wi-Fi 7, devices can send and receive data using multiple bands simultaneously. This means that if one band is struggling with congestion, your device can switch to another and avoid interruptions.
Improved Support For Mobile And IoT Devices
Aside from resolving latency, MLO can also support different types of devices. This goes for laptops and smartphones in addition to VoIP-enabled IoT devices.
It means that employees can freely move around the office without worrying about their call quality being affected or having the connection drop altogether.
How Will Businesses Benefit From Wi-Fi 7?
In the near future, businesses who use VoIP will start to see some major improvements thanks to Wi-Fi 7. With its ability to prioritise voice traffic, all calls will instantly sound clearer and smoother.
For those who are looking to expand in the coming years, Wi-Fi 7 will be able to handle more employees and devices as the company grows.
Lastly, it’s built for the future. Which means it’s fully capable of supporting newer technologies from smart assistants to AI-driven voice systems which are predicted to become the norm in business settings.
And given that the next era of communication is going to be wireless, what better than Wi-Fi 7 to be able to manage VoIP demands.
