30 September 2025
Scott Baxter, Network Systems Consultant, Velaspan
Across the UK, wireless networking is entering another, transformative period. From Ofcom’s ongoing work to unlock more 6GHz spectrum, to the first wave of Wi-Fi 7 hardware appearing in homes and offices, the landscape is evolving rapidly. Whilst the marketing noise continues to focus on speed and other unattainable ‘theoreticals;’ the most important changes for businesses and service providers go far beyond ‘speeds.’ They encompass quality design, security, automation, and expose entirely new use cases.
Wi-Fi 7 adoption in context
Wi-Fi 7 is no longer a distant reality. Release 1 of Wi-Fi 7 devices are already available with features like multi-link operation (MLO), 320MHz channels, and 4K quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) boosting throughput and increased reliability (conditions permitting). As anticipated, consumer broadband providers have begun shipping Wi-Fi 7 routers to consumers, raising expectations around seamless, high-speed connectivity.
For enterprises, adoption will move more gradually. Most organisations refresh network hardware on a 3- to 5-year cycle, and many client devices won’t support Release 2 capabilities until 2025–2026. The near-term priority is planning for mixed environments: optimising wired backhaul, ensuring switches and cabling can support the higher throughput and likely higher AP count. All whilst managing legacy 2.4GHz and 5GHz devices without compromising performance, which, is no mean feat.
The message in enterprise is clear, Wi-Fi 7 is not ‘plug and play.’ It’s an opportunity to rethink wireless network design for density, coverage, and application-critical reliability - well before full-client adoption.
Spectrum is strategy: UK 6GHz now and next
Spectrum availability is the foundation of any wireless design. The state of play surrounding the 2.4GHz and 5GHz spectrum is well known but with the recent addition of the 6GHz spectrum, comes with new considerations for deployments. Today, the UK allows low-power indoor (LPI) use in the lower 6GHz band (5925–6425MHz), enabling faster, cleaner channels indoors but limiting outdoor deployments.
That picture is rapidly changing. Ofcom is consulting on enabling Automated Frequency Coordination (AFC) for standard-power operation in the lower 6GHz range. This is critical for outdoor Wi-Fi in campuses, stadia, and transport hubs and low-power indoor use of the upper 6GHz band (6425–7125MHz). Decisions could land by the end of 2025, creating a more flexible and powerful environment for high-density deployments.
Forward-looking organisations should already be planning for ‘AFC-ready’ designs and thinking about how these changes will affect client experience, coverage maps, and interference management.
Seamless, secure onboarding at scale
While Wi-Fi 7 gets all of the attention, one of the quiet revolutions in Wi-Fi is authentication. OpenRoaming and other Passpoint-based systems are finally delivering what users have long wanted: automatic, secure onboarding across venues without repeated, frankly annoying, captive portal logins.
In the UK, public sector initiatives like GovWifi are reinforcing this shift, promoting WPA2 / WPA3 enterprise authentication with RADIUS for robust identity and security management. The result? Lower support overhead, better user satisfaction, and more consistent policy enforcement.
For consumer facing retailers, airports, and councils, embracing these roaming frameworks isn’t just about convenience, it’s about future-proofing connectivity for a more mobile, security-conscious user base.
Wi-Fi and private 5G: complementary, not combative
The debate between Wi-Fi and private 5G has often been framed as a zero-sum battle, but the reality is far more nuanced. Each technology brings its own strengths to the table:
• Wi-Fi excels in cost efficiency, LAN integration, indoor coverage and possibly, most importantly, end-client support.
• Private 5G offers mobility, low latency, and deterministic performance in industrial or high-security environments.
Across the UK, enterprises are increasingly running both. Universities, offices, and hotels lean on Wi-Fi for dense, device-rich environments, while ports, logistics hubs, and manufacturing facilities explore private 5G for connected machinery and asset tracking.
The winning strategy is a pragmatic one: use the right tool for the right workload, using the offerings in unison, rather than chasing a single ‘winner.’
What’s next: sensing and security
Wi-Fi sensing
The approval of IEEE 802.11bf in 2025 signals a new class of applications. Wi-Fi sensing leverages existing radio waves to detect motion and presence, enabling use cases like energy-efficient smart lighting, occupancy analytics, and elder-care monitoring, without deploying cameras or additional hardware.
While adoption will be cautious, rightly so, especially around privacy, this capability is set to become a differentiator for forward-thinking venues and enterprises.
Security
At the same time, security expectations are rising. Guidance from the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) increasingly emphasises segmentation, robust authentication (such as EAP-TLS), and continuous monitoring. Modern Wi-Fi designs that integrate policy enforcement, zero-trust principles, and automation will be best placed to meet compliance needs without adding operational burden. Plus, this helps all those network managers, CTOs and CISOs sleep just that little bit easier.
Beyond speed
For UK businesses, universities, and public services, the next few years in Wi-Fi aren’t just about hitting those touted headline speeds. They’re about thoughtful planning: aligning spectrum strategy, network design, onboarding, and security with real-world needs. Those that succeed won’t just meet user expectations, but they’ll create more resilient, adaptable, and innovative networks ready for whatever comes next.
