The Wi-Fi Revolution 7: How RU and MRU Are Reinventing Wireless Communication
The Chaos of Data Traffic and the Need for New “Highways”
The analogy between computer networks and large urban highways has never been more accurate. Dense environments with hundreds of connected devices turn frequency channels into congested avenues. Wi-Fi 7 has emerged as a technical response to this limitation, with two fundamental advances: RU (Resource Unit) and MRU (Multi-Resource Unit).
These new mechanisms operate as true digital traffic engineers, optimizing spectrum allocation, reducing latency and ensuring greater spectral efficiency.
OFDMA and RU: Dividing the Highway with Intelligence
Since Wi-Fi 4 (802.11n), orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) has been used to transmit data on multiple subcarriers simultaneously. With Wi-Fi 6, OFDMA brought the idea of RU – smaller divisions of the subcarrier – which allow multiple devices to transmit data simultaneously within the same channel, allocating different RU sizes as needed.
However, there was a limitation: each device could only use one RU per transmission. This led to latency in heavier applications, even with idle spectrum.
MRU: The Intelligent Combination of Resources
Wi-Fi 7 breaks this limitation with the MRU concept. Multiple contiguous or non-contiguous RUs can now be grouped together to form a larger logical block. This allows devices with large volumes of data to transmit with minimal latency and higher throughput, using the spectrum much more efficiently.
This flexibility is crucial in scenarios such as industries, hospitals and smart cities.
Puncturing: Avoiding Interference Without Sacrificing the Channel
Another advance in Wi-Fi 7 is puncturing. Unlike Wi-Fi 6, where interfered sub-carriers were rendered unusable, Wi-Fi 7 makes it possible to isolate these compromised bands and keep the others operating normally. This dramatically increases resilience to interference.
What MRU Improves in Practice
- Latency reduction: Immediate aggregation of available RUs, reducing the wait for high-volume transmissions.
- Spectral efficiency: idle RUs are dynamically reused according to network demand.
- Interference Tolerance: Redistribution of traffic between active sub-carriers without full channel loss.
| Specification | Wi-Fi 6 | Wi-Fi 7 |
| Channel width | Up to 160 MHz | Up to 320MHz |
| Modulation | 1024-QAM | 4096-QAM |
| Maximum speed | 9.6 Gbps | 46 Gbps |
| MRU + Puncturing | Not available | Implemented |
| Efficiency with MRU | Limited | Up to 40% gain |
Advanced applications with MRU
- Smart Factories: Low latency communication between sensors, actuators and computer vision.
- RA/RV: Image and motion synchronization with a latency of less than 10ms.
- Smart Cities and V2X: Traffic lights, vehicles and connected infrastructure operating in real time.
Efficiency, Flexibility and Intelligence
RU and MRU don’t just increase speed – they redefine wireless communication architecture. Wi-Fi 7 represents a structural change, based on dynamic and intelligent spectrum allocation.
The future of connectivity lies in flexible and scalable solutions. And in this new reality, RU and MRU are the pillars that will enable adaptive, resilient and truly optimized networks.
If your company is considering how to migrate to a Wi-Fi 7 architecture or explore the benefits of RU and MRU, our team can help.
