Wi-Fi 7, AI & OpenRoaming boost industry investment

Investment confidence in Wi-Fi has risen over the past year, with almost two-thirds of industry respondents reporting a stronger willingness to commit funds, according to new survey findings from the Wireless Broadband Alliance.

The WBA's latest industry survey shows that 62% of respondents feel more confident about investing in Wi-Fi than 12 months ago. A further 18% report that their confidence is unchanged. The research reflects views from 185 participants across Wi-Fi, cellular and enterprise organisations, covering roles from the C-suite and strategy to research and product management.

Wi-Fi 7 is the technology most likely to see deployment in 2026 among those surveyed. Some 38% plan to roll out Wi-Fi 7 in 2025 or 2026. A similar shift is visible around the use of artificial intelligence, with 32% planning to deploy AI or so-called cognitive networks in their Wi-Fi estates.

Respondents expect strong growth in network usage from connected home and industrial systems. Smart home internet of things (IoT) led the list of use cases expected to drive overall network and traffic growth, cited by 36% of those surveyed. AI-related workloads followed at 33%, with industrial and manufacturing applications and IoT at 24%.

Stadiums and event venues emerged as the single vertical where respondents expect the highest traffic growth. Some 41% identified these large sites as the area likely to see the most significant increase in Wi-Fi data usage.

Wi-Fi and 5G

The survey suggests that Wi-Fi and 5G are converging in many enterprise planning cycles. Six in ten respondents said that combining Wi-Fi and 5G would give their organisation greater flexibility in enterprise networks. The same proportion expect Wi-Fi and 5G to co-exist, rather than compete as a binary choice in corporate environments.

Respondents also highlighted quality of experience and seamless connectivity as priorities. Network security and privacy ranked as the most important aspect of Wi-Fi for businesses today, cited by 76%. End-user experience, encompassing quality of experience and quality of service, and seamless authentication to Wi-Fi followed in joint second place at 70% each.

Views on new technical features in Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7 point to an emphasis on performance in dense environments. Multi-Link Operation (MLO) was rated the single most important new or improved feature by 46% of respondents. This indicates focus on issues such as latency, resilience and spectrum efficiency. OFDMA uplink and downlink, and mandatory WPA3 compliance, shared second place at 33% each, while multi-user MIMO uplink ranked third at 32%.

OpenRoaming uptake

The WBA survey indicates that OpenRoaming is moving from trials towards broader planning. Some 38% of respondents say they have already deployed an OpenRoaming and/or Passpoint compliant network. A further 32% plan deployments in 2026, and 18% look to 2027.

Respondents see network access as the main driver for OpenRoaming investment. The top reason given was the creation of frictionless Wi-Fi, cited by 63%. Seamless access between Wi-Fi and 5G or LTE followed at 60%, with seamless access across different networks at 40%.

City-wide public Wi-Fi is also becoming more common. Among respondents active in this area, 33% say they have already deployed city-wide public Wi-Fi. A further 39% plan such deployments in 2026 or 2027. The top three services respondents associate with public Wi-Fi are support for city services, mentioned by 70%, provision of seamless, affordable and secure internet access for users at 65%, and offload for carriers at 49%.

The survey notes that some city governments have already adopted OpenRoaming. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government is cited as one example using the technology for city services, public access and carrier offload.

6 GHz importance

The 6 GHz band continues to feature heavily in respondents' medium-term Wi-Fi plans. Some 65% describe 6 GHz availability as important or critical for the future of their Wi-Fi business and rollout. The findings signal that spectrum in this band sits at the centre of many future Wi-Fi strategies.

Survey participants also pointed to the role of Wi-Fi in business continuity. Security, privacy, quality of experience and seamless roaming between Wi-Fi and cellular networks all ranked highly in their current priorities.

Tiago Rodrigues, President and CEO of the Wireless Broadband Alliance, said: "This year's WBA Industry Report survey makes it clear that the Wi-Fi community has moved to building the next generation of converged connectivity and the momentum is strong: Wi-Fi 7 and AI-driven networks, which can cut costs, while improving the operational efficiency, performance and reliability of networks, are at the top of deployment plans. 6 GHz is viewed as critical spectrum, and almost half of respondents are already deploying or planning OpenRoaming networks. Respondent's priorities of security, privacy, Quality of Experience and seamless roaming between Wi-Fi and 5G are exactly where the WBA is focused through our programs of work. In a world where connectivity is business continuity, these findings show that Wi-Fi has become essential infrastructure for enterprises, operators and cities alike."

The WBA plans to use the survey findings to guide its work on OpenRoaming, Wi-Fi 7, AI-enabled Wi-Fi, quality of service and Wi-Fi and 5G convergence during 2026.