This paper presents a comparative analysis of the performance of Wi‑Fi 6 and Wi‑Fi 7 Mesh wireless local area networks in a real operator environment. The core of the research is based on indoor throughput measurements, where Wi‑Fi 6 Mesh and Wi‑Fi 7 with multi‑link operation (MLO) are directly compared. Measurements were conducted in a typical residential environment and include both downlink (DL) and uplink (UL) transmission rates. In addition to the indoor measurements, the paper also presents outdoor measurement results performed exclusively for Wi‑Fi 7. These measurements provide insight into the impact of distance and regulatory constraints on achievable throughput and enable a comparison of system performance under European and United States regulatory frameworks. This approach allows an evaluation of Wi‑Fi 7 performance in more favorable radio conditions without a direct comparison to previous-generation technology. The results indicate that Wi‑Fi 7 achieves higher throughput and exhibits a smaller performance degradation across multiple Mesh hops compared to Wi‑Fi 6 in indoor environments. The outdoor measurements further demonstrate the high potential of Wi‑Fi 7 technology, while highlighting the significant influence of regulatory limitations on achievable data rates.
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