By Claus Hetting, WiFi NOW CEO & Chairman
Embedded World: Qualcomm releases two new Wi-Fi IoT evaluation kits
Last year at Embedded World in Nuremberg, Germany, Qualcomm released its QCC730 SoC for ultra-low power Wi-Fi IoT – and this year, the company is complementing this SoC with a new evaluation kit for faster Wi-Fi IoT device go-to-market. “The Qualcomm QCC730M EVK showcases the ability to prototype micro-power Wi-Fi IoT applications, perfect for smart home and battery-powered solutions,” says Shishir Gupta, Senior Director Product Management at Qualcomm.
Qualcomm says the QCC730M EVK allows developers, OEMs, and ODMs to design and test micro-power Wi-Fi solutions using standard interfaces and selectable power modes. For more abut the QCC730 EVK also read here. Qualcomm also released the QCC74xM EVK, which is designed for tri-radio IoT applications including multiple connectivity options, Qualcomm says. Also don’t miss meeting Qualcomm at Wi-Fi World Congress in Mountain View on April 28-30 – read more here.
Comcast cranks up upload speeds for 20 million Xfinity customers
Comcast announced this week that more than 20 million customers will benefit from 50-100% faster upload speeds starting immediately while download speeds will also increase for most subscription tiers, the company said. The upgrade is offered at no additional cost to the subscribers involved. The upgrade appears not to require any HW changes.
“At home, Xfinity’s WiFi gateways and extenders create a fast, reliable, and secure connection to every corner of the house. Outside of the home, Comcast’s Xfinity Internet customers have access to the nation’s largest network of WiFi hotspots to connect on the go,” Comcast said. The company also grabbed the opportunity to highlight the importance of Wi-Fi to the Xfinity Mobile connectivity experience: “Because 90% of Xfinity Mobile Internet traffic travels over Wi-Fi – not cellular – this combination of products delivers a faster Internet and mobile experience and hundreds of dollars of savings to customers,” said Emily Waldorf, Senior VP of Consumer Products at Comcast Connectivity.
Vantron unveils Wi-Fi HaLow USB dongle
A world of Wi-Fi HaLow connectivity everywhere is creeping closer as Wireless IoT vendor Vantron released (we believe) the world’s first Wi-Fi HaLow USB dongle at Embedded World in Nuremberg, Germany, earlier this week. The dongle is powered by Morse Micro’s MM8108 Wi-Fi HaLow chipset and designed to integrate into existing infrastructure, for example Wi-Fi APs. The VT-USB-AH-8108 dongle delivers up to 43 Mbps of Wi-Fi HaLow connectivity speed and is basically plug-and-play, Vantron says. The unit will be available in 2Q2025. Also don’t miss both Vantron and Morse Micro at Wi-Fi HaLow Global Summit in Mountain View, California, on April 28.
Seeed Studio launches Wi-Fi HaLow connectivity boards (modules)
Last week China-based electronics developer Seeed Studio has launched two new Wi-Fi HaLow connectivity boards. Seeed has partnered with Quectel and Morse Micro to launch the modules and both are powered by Quectel’s FGH100M-H transceiver supporting Wi-Fi HaLow connectivity in the 902-928MHz frequency range and incorporate Morse Micro’s HaLow SoC technology. For more read here.
Plume releases ‘5G.11 Offload’ for mobile carriers
Broadband platform provider Plume has released its first convergence solution dubbed ‘5G.11 Offload’ aimed at helping mobile carriers offload traffic to Wi-Fi networks. Plume says the new solution allows CSPs to use own Wi-Fi infrastructure for offloading mobile data or to deploy Wi-Fi APs in public spaces for this purpose.
They can even sign agreements with other Wi-Fi operators for offload, Plume says. Plume says the solution allows for better indoor coverage using Wi-Fi (instead of cellular DAS, for example) while enhancing the subscriber’s connectivity quality-of-experience. The solution requires Plume’s Customer Experience Management platform and OpenSync-enabled Wi-Fi APs or gateways. For more also read here.
/Claus.
