The Ookla report says European markets are leading the transition to full-fiber networks, with multi-gigabit broadband becoming increasingly common, particularly in Western and Northern Europe.
Countries such as France (1.5 percent), Switzerland (0.9 percent), and Denmark (0.6 percent) had the highest Wi-Fi 7 adoption at the end of 2024. The Nordics, including Iceland (46 percent), Norway (39 percent), and Sweden (38 percent), led in overall adoption of modern Wi-Fi standards (Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 7 combined).
An IDC report in December said the latest Wi-Fi standards are gaining traction in the enterprise WLAN market. Wi-Fi 6E, which enables Wi-Fi to utilize the 6 GHz band of unlicensed spectrum, accounted for 31.7 percent of the dependent access point market’s revenues in the third quarter of 2024 against 20.4 percent in Q3 2023.
Brandon Butler, Senior Research Manager, Enterprise Networks, IDC, says Wi-Fi 7 is also starting to be adopted, making up 4.9 percent of the dependent AP segment’s revenues, while most remaining dependent APs continue to utilize Wi-Fi 6 technology.
Ookla report says Wi-Fi 7 has delivered substantial performance improvements, with download speeds reaching 565.80 Mbps — up to 78 percent higher than Wi-Fi 6. Upload speeds have nearly doubled due to Multi-Link Operation (MLO), while latency has improved modestly, reducing to a median of 13 ms.
Despite these advancements, legacy Wi-Fi standards (Wi-Fi 4 and Wi-Fi 5) still account for over 70 percent of connections in many European countries, creating performance bottlenecks even in fiber-rich nations such as Spain (75 percent legacy Wi-Fi share), Portugal (78 percent), and Ireland (84 percent).
The shift to full-fiber networks, particularly with XGS-PON technology supporting symmetrical 10 Gbps speeds, has made in-home Wi-Fi performance a key factor in broadband quality.
Multi-gigabit fiber connections now represent nearly 20 percent of all fixed broadband subscriptions in the EU, with France (52 percent), Hungary (37 percent), and Romania (30.45 percent) leading the way.
However, outdated Wi-Fi standards significantly limit performance, especially for high-value subscribers expecting the best experience.
The introduction of Wi-Fi 7 has unlocked new levels of performance, with Free in France achieving over 1.1 Gbps median download speeds — nearly double that of Wi-Fi 6. In the UK, EE’s Wi-Fi 7 service reached 665.01 Mbps, over four times faster than its Wi-Fi 6 connections.
Wi-Fi 7 also enhances upload speeds, nearly doubling performance on ISPs like Free and EE. Additionally, Wi-Fi 7’s Multi-Link Operation (MLO) has contributed to latency improvements, with EE in the UK reducing median latency to 17 ms (12 percent lower than Wi-Fi 6), and Free in France achieving 18 ms (7 percent lower).
These advancements position Wi-Fi 7 as a key enabler of ISPs’ ambitions for symmetrical uplink and downlink performance. As ISPs integrate Wi-Fi 7 into premium fiber packages, they not only improve customer experience but also create new revenue opportunities through bundled equipment and performance guarantees.
The report says countries that accelerate the migration from legacy Wi-Fi to modern standards with investment will gain a competitive edge in delivering superior fiber broadband experiences.
Baburajan Kizhakedath
