Qualcomm announces Wi-Fi 7 product line

In a move that it boasts will initiate a new era of 10Gbps Wi-Fi for mesh, gateways and premium home routers, Qualcomm Technologies has announced that it is sampling the third-generation Networking Pro Series portfolio, which it claims is the world’s most scalable commercial Wi-Fi 7 platform.

The platform uses a custom architectural design optimised for multi-user environments, with network acceleration and low CPU utilisation to power the collaboration, telepresence, extended reality, metaverse and immersive applications of current enterprise environments.

When combined with high-performance internet access, such as 5G fixed wireless access or 10G PON fibre, Qualcomm said customers could experience immersive connected experiences, including high-resolution video conferencing, augmented and virtual reality, and high-performance cloud gaming.

The scalable platform architecture is based on a common software and hardware development approach to deliver a range of globally relevant configurations, each supporting optimised multiband channel utilisation schemes to address varied regional spectrum availability. Customers can select from a range of platforms, whether targeting small, medium or large enterprise, carrier gateway, prosumer mesh or home deployments.

The Wi-Fi 7 Network Pro Series products combine Wi-Fi 7 features with Qualcomm’s intelligent multi-channel management technologies to improve speeds, reduce latency and enhance network utilisation for users of Wi-Fi 6/6E devices, while offering high throughput and low latency for the next generation of Wi-Fi 7 client devices.

The products also include Wi-Fi 7 functionality, such as simultaneous multi-link operations, 4K QAM, and tri-band and quad-band configurations, and enable Wi-Fi connectivity across 2.4GHz, 5GHz and 6GHz spectrum. The products will offer support for Wi-Fi 7 320MHz channels, delivering a two-times increase in throughput over Wi-Fi 6.

The platform has offerings ranging from six to 16 streams, for deployment in next-generation access points, high-performance routers and carrier gateways. Features include 320MHz channel support establishing performance of up to 33Gbps wireless interface capacity and peak throughputs over 10Gbps.

There are also features for interference detection and multilink operation, as well as deterministic low latency across challenging shared wireless environments, enabling application performance that is claimed to rival private spectrum. The products can support high-speed, low-latency wireless backhaul for mesh Wi-Fi, with reliable performance even in the presence of neighbouring interference.

“Qualcomm Technologies has enabled the era of 10Gbps Wi-Fi with our first customer deliveries of the Wi-Fi 7 Networking Pro Series family,” commented Nick Kucharewski, senior vice-president and general manager for wireless infrastructure and networking at Qualcomm Technologies.

“Combining support for the latest Wi-Fi 7 innovations with our unique product platform architecture, the platform enables solutions ranging from whole-home mesh to powerful connectivity networks for large public venues. With this product line, we anticipate a new class of customer system for today’s applications and the emerging Wi-Fi 7 ecosystem.”

Networking Pro Series platforms are also supported by Qualcomm Technologies’ turnkey service for Automated Frequency Control (AFC) to enable optimum performance possible in the 6GHz spectrum band. The Qualcomm AFC Solution is available for customer device integration immediately and, once regulatory approvals are granted, will be commercially available for use by the public.