Wi-Fi has never been more widespread, and licences to essential patents reading on the technology have never been more accessible

By Giorgia Varvelli

Wi-Fi 7 was introduced formally in early 2024 and is projected to power 2.1 billion devices by 2028. Enterprise adoption is accelerating; major vendors continue to offer new and better products and pricing remains highly competitive. The ecosystem is thriving.

The commercial success of this technology is matched by a SEP licensing environment that is becoming more efficient and more predictable.

The launch in January 2026 of Sisvel Wi-Fi Multimode, covering both Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 7, was a key milestone. Ten of the most active Wi-Fi licensors have coalesced around the pool, while several large-scale implementers have already signed up to its fair and transparent licence terms. A truly level playing field is now within reach. This is not a broken market – far from it.

A pool designed to resolve – and avoid – disputes

However, it is also true that against the backdrop of its phenomenal success, Wi-Fi has become an active area of SEP litigation. This is an inefficiency that the Sisvel Wi-Fi Multimode pool was designed to help solve. And it is clearly working: the programme has already facilitated large-scale deals that may not have materialised as 10 separate bilateral agreements in the absence of litigation – and certainly not without years of largely duplicative negotiations.

As Sisvel’s licensing track record shows, the pool proposition is compelling. A single agreement replaces multiple bilateral engagements, each with its own timeline, friction points and risk of deadlock. With more companies contributing their technologies to Wi-Fi standards in recent years, the administrative burden of bilateral licensing at scale is significant. The pool offers one relationship, one royalty structure and one set of terms for a large share of the Wi-Fi SEP universe.

Large, sophisticated companies understand this. Major players like Cisco, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Sony have all taken Sisvel pool licences in the Wi-Fi field without any litigation occurring in the background.

These agreements are good for the entire ecosystem. When major implementers join the pool amicably, they signal to the market that the terms are FRAND and the process is sound. This reduces uncertainty for other players in the market, which can license with confidence that they are not putting themselves at a competitive disadvantage.

Our position is clear: the Sisvel Wi-Fi Multimode pool licence remains the best and most efficient way for any licensee not only to resolve any disputes that may arise with individual licensors in our programme, but also to secure access on FRAND terms to the foundational Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 7 SEP portfolios of all 10 of its participating patent owners.

An open door for resolution

Still, pool licensing is only one licensing option, alongside bilateral licensing discussions. There are a number of high-profile legal battles around Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 7 taking place, some involving participants in the Multimode pool. Some disputes even highlight decades of historical holdout.

When unlicensed companies pursue strategies of delay or holdout, this unfairly disadvantages the rest of the market. Faced with a total lack of responsiveness or a clear unwillingness to deal, patent owners may feel the need to commence litigation.

Unfortunately, lawsuits sometimes bring what Sisvel does best – negotiation – to a standstill, at least temporarily. We always stand ready with a durable commercial solution should an implementer decide that a pool licence is the best way forward.

Court-ordered outcomes rarely provide what implementers really need: long-term clarity, market-driven terms and a framework for a productive ongoing relationship with a licensor. The Wi-Fi Multimode pool offers exactly those things. We prevent more litigation than we resolve – but when disputes do arise, the pool offers the best and most efficient off-ramp. That is because a pool licence not only resolves the immediate conflict but also establishes a basis for continued collaboration.

Sisvel believes that the market is best served when companies compete on product innovation, pricing, and customer value – not on who can withstand years of legal attrition. Deal by deal, we are building a Wi-Fi market in which licensors see a return on their R&D investments, implementers benefit from certainty and parity, and consumers enjoy ongoing access to better-performing products.

When litigating parties agree that a dispute is ready to move off the legal track, Sisvel’s door is open.

Giorgia Varvelli is Programme Manager for the Sisvel Wi-Fi Multimode pool

The opinions expressed within this article are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the views of Sisvel. The content is for informational purposes and should not be taken as legal advice.