Intel and Broadcom complete first Wi-Fi 7 cross-vendor demonstration with speeds over 5 Gbps

Intel and Broadcom held what they say is the industry’s first crossvendor demonstration of WiFi 7 [1.], with over-the-air speeds above 5 Gbps. The trial used an Intel® Core™ processor-based laptop with a Wi-Fi 7 solution connected to a Broadcom Wi-Fi 7 access point.

Note 1. Wi-Fi 7 is the 7th generation WiFi standard or IEEE 802.11be.  The official IEEE 802.11be title is “Standard for Information technology–Telecommunications and information exchange between systems Local and metropolitan area networks–Specific requirements – Part 11: Wireless LAN Medium Access Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY) Specifications. Amendment: Enhancements for Extremely High Throughput (EHT).”  The scope of this standard is to define one medium access control (MAC) and several physical layer (PHY) specifications for wireless connectivity for fixed, portable, and moving stations (STAs) within a local area.  The purpose of this standard is to provide wireless connectivity for fixed, portable, and moving stations within a local area. This standard also offers regulatory bodies a means of standardizing access to one or more frequency bands for the purpose of local area.  It is dependent on IEEE802.11ax, often referred to as WiFi 6 or 6E.

In summary, WiFi 7 is an extremely high throughput wireless network that uses 2.4Ghz, 5Ghz, and 6Ghz frequency bands. Wi-Fi 7 leverages advanced technology to maximize overall capacity, decrease latency and increase speed to every device.

“We are proud to highlight how next-generation Wi-Fi 7 can make new mobile PC experiences possible. Industry collaboration is essential to ensure we deliver on the promises of this new wireless technology. We would like to thank our colleagues at Broadcom for their great technical cooperation, which helped enable this unprecedented, first-of-its-kind demonstration of ultra-high speed and ultra-low latency Wi-Fi 7,” said Carlos Cordeiro, Intel Fellow and Wireless CTO, Client Computing Group, Intel.

Vijay Nagarajan, vice president, Wireless Connectivity Division, Broadcom, said, “Today’s milestone sends a clear message: the ecosystem is ready and Wi-Fi 7 is here to deliver extraordinary capacity and blazing fast speeds to extend gigabit broadband. The reliable, low latency communication provided by Wi-Fi 7 is a key element of Broadcom’s vision for connecting everything as the Internet evolves to its next iteration replete with immersive experiences. Industry collaboration is key to making this unprecedented connectivity a reality and we were delighted to work with Intel to achieve another industry first.”

Wi-Fi 7 is the platform for the next 10 years of wireless experiences, which require higher speeds, lower latency, improved reliability and greater capacity. Wi-Fi 7 leverages new features including wider 320 MHz channels in unlicensed 6GHz spectrum, higher order 4K QAM data modulation, simultaneous connections across multiple bands with multi-link operation and improved channel utilization efficiency with multi-resource unit puncturing.

Wi-Fi 7’s deterministic operation enables new product classes, including augmented and virtual reality, ultra-high-definition 16K media streaming, and super-responsive and reliable gaming, while supporting large numbers of connected devices in the home or office. And with Wi-Fi 7’s greatly increased speeds, broadband subscribers will get full value from their multi-gigabit internet plans.

“Wi-Fi 7 is the most powerful and capable Wi-Fi protocol yet and will allow Wi-Fi to continue to serve the most demanding applications in the consumer and vertical markets with the highest level of determinism yet,” said Phil Solis, Research Director, Connectivity at IDC. “Interoperability testing between Intel and Broadcom will enable the development of products that can be used in the test beds for official Wi-Fi Alliance certification testing.”

Intel and Broadcom provide the full network that is essential to help maximize Wi-Fi 7’s potential and deliver end-to-end experiences to the wider Wi-Fi marketplace.

“As longtime WBA board members, Broadcom and Intel have been instrumental in pioneering Wi-Fi 6 and 6E. Now they’re leading the way again with Wi-Fi 7, which leverages the rapidly growing availability of 6 GHz spectrum in multiple countries across APAC, EMEA, Latin America and the U.S. Their successful trial is a milestone toward bringing Wi-Fi 7’s double-digit gigabit speeds, ultra-low latency, carrier-grade resilience and other next-generation capabilities to consumers and businesses worldwide. Enterprise and residential networks will also greatly benefit from the advanced capabilities of Wi-Fi 7,” said Tiago Rodrigues, CEO of the Wireless Broadband Alliance.

Broadcom and Intel say they will continue to show the additional capabilities of Wi-Fi 7.

WHAT DOES QUALCOMM HAVE TO SAY ABOUT WIFI 7?

“Qualcomm Technologies’ Wi-Fi 7 solutions push the boundaries of what Wi-Fi can do, with enhanced speeds, latency and network capacity plus support for advanced features like 320MHz channels, 4K QAM and advanced multi-link implementations such as High Band Simultaneous Multi-Link.”

References:

https://www.intc.com/news-events/press-releases/detail/1571/intel-and-broadcom-achieve-major-wi-fi-7-industry-milestone

Intel and Broadcom Achieve First Cross-Vendor Wi-Fi 7 Demo

Intel Wi-Fi 7 page and Broadcom Wi-Fi 7 page

https://www.ieee802.org/11/Reports/802.11_Timelines.htm

https://www.qualcomm.com/products/features/wi-fi-7