Wi-Fi 7 enters the "hands-on" phase

2022-05-05 21:42· IT Times

Author: Wang Xin Source: IT Times

On May 5, Qualcomm announced the launch of a portfolio of third-generation Qualcomm professional networking platforms that support Wi-Fi 7 networks. Qualcomm said that the platform is currently the world's highest performance commercial Wi-Fi 7 network infrastructure platform portfolio, and has been sampled to global development partners.

The new Wi-Fi 7 commercial platform brings ultra-fast speeds, ultra-low network latency and ultra-high network utilization to end devices such as Wi-Fi 6, Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7.

Nick Kucharewski, senior vice president and general manager of wireless infrastructure and networking business at Qualcomm Technologies, said: "Qualcomm has shipped more than 6 billion Wi-Fi chips across all Wi-Fi applications and related technologies worldwide. With the delivery of the Qualcomm professional networking platform family supporting Wi-Fi 7 to its first customers, Qualcomm Technologies ushered in the 10Gbps Wi-Fi era. ”

The next-generation Wi-Fi 7 platform takes Wi-Fi performance to a whole new level, bringing systems 33 Gbps of peak aggregated wireless capacity and more than 10 Gbps point-to-point connectivity through Wi-Fi 7 innovations such as 4K QAM modulation and quad-band configuration.

It is reported that the first customers include retailers, professional installers, residential builders, telecom operators and Internet service providers in 19 countries around the world.

For the new Wi-Fi 7 platform and new technologies, it Times interviewed Qualcomm's senior vice president and general manager of wireless infrastructure and networking business Nick Kucharewski and Qualcomm's senior product manager Ye Sikon to provide a comprehensive interpretation of Wi-Fi 7 technology.

Q: How fast is Wi-Fi 7?

Ye Sikun: The available spectrum in the Wi-Fi 7 era has increased to 1760MHz, which is nearly 100 times more available spectrum than in the earlier Wi-Fi 3, Wi-Fi 2 and Wi-Fi 1 periods. The system wireless channel has also increased from the original 1 to the current 3, or even 4, the effective bandwidth has doubled from 160MHz of Wi-Fi 6 to 320MHz today, and the wireless capacity of the system has also increased to 33Gbps.

What T Pro needs to add is that 33Gbps is from the overall perspective of the system, representing the highest rate of the physical layer of the system; in terms of the performance of a single channel, the single-channel wireless physical layer rate of the latest generation of Qualcomm professional networking platform has increased to 11.5Gbps.

Q: What are the new features of Wi-Fi 7 technology itself?

Sikon Ye: Wi-Fi 7 has three transformative new features:

First, faster connections. The 320MHz bandwidth allows less time to transmit the same amount of data, allowing the entire system to transmit more efficiently. In addition, 4K QAM will bring faster connections, further improving terminal transmission capabilities. (320MHz bandwidth represents wider highway lanes, and 4K QAM technology represents tighter "data vehicle" spacing, both of which can significantly increase data rates.) ）

Second, the multi-connection feature. Based on the new multi-connection operation feature, it provides better underlying support for overall throughput improvement and low latency. (More vehicles can be driven simultaneously in the lane without interfering with each other.) ）

Third, adaptive connectivity. In environments that have been extended to 320MHz bandwidth, the new adaptive jamming technology will ensure that end users can still get high-performance transmission in interference environments (if there is some lane congestion, cleverly avoid congestion, change lanes).

Q: What kind of ecological support do users need when they finally use Wi-Fi 7 technology?

Ye Sikun: Qualcomm has provided a complete end-to-end Wi-Fi 7 ecosystem. In February this year, Qualcomm launched the world's first and fastest Wi-Fi 7 commercial solution - FastConnect 7800 mobile connection system, which is also the industry's most advanced mobile Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connection system, and the new Qualcomm professional networking platform officially launched on May 5, which covers enterprise-level, home Mesh networking products and operator gateways.

Q: How is Wi-Fi 7 platform performance divided and graded?

Nick Kucharewski: Take Qualcomm, which has two main product lines in the field of Wi-Fi network connectivity. For home application scenarios, Qualcomm immersive home networking platform is mainly for products with smaller size, lower power consumption and higher cost-effective requirements; on the other hand, for enterprise-level applications, Qualcomm professional networking platform is mainly for products with the largest capacity, highest performance and strongest scalability, which is the latest released platform, which is Qualcomm's highest performance product line and one of the most scalable Wi-Fi connectivity solutions in the industry.

Among the Qualcomm professional networking platforms released this time, they are divided into four series: Qualcomm 1620 professional networking platform, 1220 professional networking platform, 820 professional networking platform, and 620 professional networking platform. Corresponding to the four-band 16-channel data flow connection, the three-band 12-channel data connection, the four-band 8-channel data flow connection, and the three-band 6-channel data flow connection, respectively, it supports the peak wireless capacity of 33.1Gbps, 21.6Gbps, 13.7Gbps, and 10.8Gbps.

Q: How long does it take for Wi-Fi 7 to fly into the homes of ordinary people?

Nick Kucharewski: For now, we're more looking forward to seeing lower costs through Wi-Fi 6, which offers higher performance. Wi-Fi 7 products will coexist with Wi-Fi 6 products in the market. But in time, Wi-Fi 7 will certainly be deployed on entry-level products as well.

Q: Is there any difference between the tri-band operation of Wi-Fi 7 and the main and secondary Wi-Fi of Wi-Fi 5 and Wi-Fi 6 working together?

Nick Kucharewski: The biggest difference between Wi-Fi 7 and previous generations of Wi-Fi is that it introduces multi-connection technology. That is to say, when the terminal is connected to other terminals, the two channels used can be the main channel, and two or more channels can be associated at the same time. When using these channels, our devices and terminals can choose the connection links they need anytime and anywhere, and they are very flexible in the use of resources. We can achieve relatively high data throughput according to our own needs, or reduce network congestion and achieve lower latency, all of which can be done through flexible options. So whether it's dual or multi-connected, we get a more flexible and adaptive approach, with the ability to select or switch between different connection links.

Q: Now that electric cars are increasingly using wireless technology in the car, will Wi-Fi 7 play a big role in this regard?

Nick Kucharewski: The new features offered by Wi-Fi 7 can be widely used in industrial control, where network connectivity is required to maintain high reliability and low latency. It also depends on what kind of system needs the manufacturer wants to solve with Wi-Fi. We're also very willing to work with these [automaker] partners to apply Wi-Fi to new products."