MediaTek says Wi-Fi 7 speeds are coming – and sooner than you might think

Wi-Fi 7 is coming to bring next-generation wireless connectivity speeds to your devices – as we explain in T3's Wi-Fi 7 Everything You Need to Know feature. MediaTek, however, is ahead of the game when it comes to such next-gen speeds, having announced its Wi-Fi 7-capable Filogic 380 chip.

Speaking directly with T3 ahead of its chipset reveal, MediaTek representatives commented that Wi-Fi 7 speeds will be here sooner than many think – meaning before 2022 is out – thanks to the development of chipsets such as Filogic 380. 

However, the chip-maker was not suggesting that true Wi-Fi 7 will arrive before it is ready. That's not going to be possible until the Wi-Fi Alliance certifies Wi-Fi 7 as an official standard (IEEE 802.11be). 

'Wi-Fi 7 ready'

So while we'll have products with MediaTek Fliogic 380 inside, running Wi-Fi 7 capable speeds of up to 36Gbps, the company claims, we'll have to look at it as a 'Wi-Fi 7 ready' sort of situation. It's a chicken before the egg scenario.

But this isn't a bad thing, ultimately, because if devices – including phones, tablets and smart TVs – feature chipsets like Filogic 380 (or, indeed, Qualcomm's Wi-Fi 7 Networking Pro Series, as announced earlier in May) then we all benefit: it's just future-proofing, delivering devices that can form that Wi-Fi 7 chain as and when it's ready and got the Alliance stamp of approval. 

So should you be excited about Wi-Fi 7? Well, that'll depend on just how much of a computing geek you are. But it'll bring clear benefits, such as multi-link operation (like multi-band aggregation across its frequency bands) for more consistent and faster speeds. And that, in an increasingly connected world, can only be a better thing for everyone. Looks like MediaTek is very much a big player in that future world in the making.