At the beginning of this year the final version of the high-speed wireless communication standard Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) was presented. Later manufacturers began to announce their own solutions that support this standard. However, it seems that Ukrainian consumers will have to wait some time for such devices to appear on store shelves.
It should be noted that the Wi-Fi 7 standard, thanks to the Multi-Link Operation (MLO) function, distributes connections across three frequency bands (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz). Compared to Wi-Fi 6, the new standard doubles the bandwidth of networks, which ensures faster performance and stable communication when connecting a large number of devices. Wi-Fi 7 technology provides a data transfer rate of about 40 Gbps, which is 4 times higher than Wi-Fi 6, due to a wider 320 MHz channel bandwidth and 4096-QAM modulation compared to the 160 MHz bandwidth and 1024-QAM modulation inherent in Wi-Fi of previous versions.
This summer, manufacturers are expected to supply devices with the new Wi-Fi 7 standard. This includes both manufacturers of network equipment and terminal devices (PCs, laptops, smartphones, tablets, etc.). However, Ukraine has not yet regulated the harmonization of the radio frequency spectrum. Therefore, the legal import and operation of such devices in Ukraine will be impossible. Moreover, this annoyance applies not only to devices supporting the latest Wi-Fi 7 standard, but also to models with the previous Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax) standard.
In order to correct this unfortunate misunderstanding and speed up the process of normal use of modern devices supporting advanced wireless communication standards in Ukraine, the Association of Information Technology Enterprises of Ukraine (APITU) has appealed to the government. Thus, the Association asks the Cabinet of Ministers to harmonize the radio frequency spectrum for the operation of devices supporting Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7.
APITU asks the government to instruct the Ministry of Digital Transformation and the National Commission for the State Regulation of Communications to develop and submit to the Cabinet of Ministers draft regulations to ensure the possibility of importing, manufacturing and operating devices that meet Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7 standards, as well as to develop and adopt the necessary regulations within the powers of the Ministry of Digital Transformation and the National Commission for the State Regulation of Communications. APITU also asks the government to inform about the instructions given and the timeframe for the said regulatory settlement.
Source: APITU