The new Wi-Fi standard focuses on performance under unreliable conditions to improve network connectivity in areas with weak signals, addressing issues such as latency and packet loss.
The IEEE 802.11bn task group, established in late 2023, is working toward a Wi-Fi 8 standard designed to address persistent network issues seen in live environments like signal drops, latency spikes, and roaming failures. Unlike earlier versions that optimised for peak speed in controlled conditions, the new standard shifts focus to performance under load, and with high interference.
Wi-Fi 8 is being shaped to reduce failure points that often go unnoticed data packet drops, high tail-end latency, and weak roaming performance, that connectivity holds when devices are moving, operating at range, or sharing congested wireless environments.
Three measurable improvements are being targeted: 25% higher throughput under poor signal quality, 25% lower worst-case latency, and a 25% reduction in packet loss during access point handoffs. These figures move the focus away from theoretical benchmarks and towards field-level performance.
To meet these targets, Qualcomm is proposing network-level coordination. Features like Coordinated Spatial Reuse (Co-SR) and Coordinated Beamforming (Co-BF) are designed to enable access points to manage spectrum and signal direction collectively, rather than operating as standalone units. Lab tests show that such coordination improves throughput and reduces variability, especially in dense deployments.
At the physical layer, routers and cables, the standard may introduce a more granular Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS) ladder. This will allow smoother scaling as signal quality degrades, rather than causing abrupt performance drops. Features under Enhanced Long Range (ELR) aim to stabilise links at coverage boundaries.
Non-Primary Channel Access (NPCA) is another proposal that enables devices to use secondary channels opportunistically in congested spectrum environments.
Draft 1.0 of Wi-Fi 8 is expected by Q3 2025. The Wi-Fi Alliance aims to begin certification by early 2028, with commercial availability expected by the end of that year. Unlike earlier standards, Wi-Fi 8 will launch as a single release with all baseline features integrated.
For engineers and system architects, the shift is clear: Wi-Fi 8 is not about hitting faster top-line speeds, but about reducing silent failures in live deployments. The aim is to address what has historically required vendor-specific firmware workarounds at the protocol level.
