It’s hard to imagine a single smartphone or tablet needing to receive more than 433Mbps of data. But the fact that MU-MIMO-powered Wi-Fi will be able to serve more users simultaneously could bring huge benefits to large-scale wireless networks, like those in airports, convention centers, and sports stadiums. Real-world throughput will end up being something lower than 433Mbps to each user because of networking overhead and other limitations, but given that a high-definition Netflix stream is just 5Mbps, there isn’t much reason to worry about that yet.

via Wi-Fi networks are wasting a gigabit—but multi-user beamforming will save the day | Ars Technica.

The first 11ac products implemented single-user beamforming, sending one transmission to a single receiver. Multi-user beamforming, coming in the next wave of 11ac products this year and next year, enables MU-MIMO and its simultaneous transmission to multiple devices.