By Claus Hetting, WiFi NOW CEO & Chairman
Softbank selects MediaTek for first Wi-Fi 7 connectivity product
Softbank – one of Japan’s largest telcos – has chosen MediaTek to power its first Wi-Fi 7 connectivity product. The new product is a 5G FWA & Wi-Fi 7 gateway powered by MediaTek’s T830 (5G Release 16) and Filogic 680 tri-band Wi-Fi 7 chipsets. The new CPE is available for customers now and Softbank says it is capable of delivering up to 2.7 Gbps of data rate ‘in some areas’. As of September the new CPE was the only Wi-Fi 7-capable product among MNOs on the Japanese market, Softbank says.
Morse Micro releases new integrated Wi-Fi HaLow evaluation kit
Morse Micro – a leader in Wi-Fi HaLow chipsets and a WiFi NOW Partner – last week released a new valuation kit that is “fully integrated development platform designed to advance IoT solutions across industries,” the company said in a press release here. The new kit dubbed MM6108-EKH05 allows developers to accelerate time-to-market for Wi-Fi HaLow IoT devices, Morse Micro says.
The kit incorporates Morse Micro’s MM6108 Wi-Fi HaLow SoC, the STM32U585 low-power microcontroller (MCU), and the BlueNRG-M2 Bluetooth® SoC, as well as integrated sensors for temperature, humidity, and acceleration. Morse Micro says they are “helping developers break new ground in everything from smart cities to industrial automation. “We believe this is a critical step toward making IoT solutions more connected, efficient, and secure for industries worldwide,” says Morse Micro CEO & co-founder, Michael De Nil.
Hong Kong’s 6 GHz mobile spectrum auction falls short
Hong Kong is so far the only region in the world that has opted for licensing and auctioning off the upper 6 GHz band – and now the experiment appears to have largely failed. According to Policy Tracker and Wi-Fi Alliance’s Alexander Roytblat, the winning bids were only 5% above the reserve (minimum) price while a full 25% of the available frequencies remain unsold.
The auction’s anaemic result is arguably a testament to the idea that 6 GHz spectrum is poorly suited for IMT (mobile) applications even in very high-density markets such as Hong Kong. Conversely, 6 GHz is ideal for indoor Wi-Fi deployment for low-latency and high-data rate applications such as AR/VR and enterprise networking, Alex Roytblat says. “The auction results are a wake-up call for regulators worldwide to consider the true strengths of the 6 GHz spectrum and prioritise policies that maximise its value through Wi-Fi innovation,” he says.
Zyxel Networks releases four new Wi-Fi 7 enterprise-grade APs
Last week Zyxel Networks – at WiFi NOW Partner – expanded its Wi-Fi 7 AP product portfolio from three to seven with the release of four new Wi-Fi 7 APs. The company now says it’s WiFi 7 portfolio is “the most extensive and comprehensive in the industry, providing options to suit every size and type of organization.” The NWA110BE and NWA210BE incorporate internal antennas and are designed for ceiling-mount applications, while WBE510D can be ceiling or wall mounted.
The WBE630S includes smart antennas for interference mitigation and best-in-class performance, the company says. The new Wi-Fi 7 APs deliver peak data rates of between 6500Mbps and 12300Mbps and will be available for purchase in 1Q2025. We will have a lot more to say about Zyxel Network’s new product releases shortly.
EE (BT) ramps up its Wi-Fi 7 marketing campaign
Analyst Dean Bubley reports that EE has significantly ramped up its Wi-Fi 7 marketing campaign with the aim to differentiate their services with an ‘everything works better on Wi-Fi 7’ argument. EE is specifically highlighting tri-band (meaning 6 GHz) capability while many other ISPs deliver dual-band only Wi-Fi 7 APs, despite 6 GHz being readily available in the UK. EE also offers a 100 Mbps per room speed guarantee or you get ₤100 back, Dean Bubley reports. Read the entire post on LinkedIn here. EE’s Qualcomm powered Wi-Fi 7 tri-band gateway was announced in September.
/Claus.
