The Fractured Evolution of Wireless Connectivity: Stagnant Wi-Fi 7 Adoption and the Emergence of Wi-Fi 8

The report reviews global Wi‑Fi 7 adoption (below 2% globally with strong variance — e.g., Singapore leading, China constrained by spectrum policy), examines factors slowing uptake such as regulatory fragmentation and rising component costs driven by AI infrastructure demand, and outlines Wi‑Fi 8's shift from peak throughput toward Ultra High Reliability with features like coordinated multi‑AP topologies, deterministic low latency, improved roaming, and alignment with 50G PON; commercial Wi‑Fi 8 hardware is forecast by 2028 with early trials earlier.