By Claus Hetting, Wi-Fi NOW CEO & Chairman
Here’s one item that we didn’t want you to miss given that much Wi-Fi news at Mobile World Congress 2024 was drowned out by AI excitement: Intel’s new vPro platform introduced at MWC 2024 (based on newly released Intel Core Ultra processor) comes packed with loads of Wi-Fi 7 connectivity power. This is the first Intel vPro platform to support Wi-Fi 7 and Intel says it connects at up to five times standard Wi-Fi 6 data rates.
PC evolution goes hand-in-hand with Wi-Fi connectivity evolution to such a degree that the two are inextricably intertwined and – arguably – strongly dependent on each other for market success. It is a little ironic then that when Intel launched their latest platform at MWC on February 27, you would need to dig deep into presentations and specs to discover that the new vPro platform also supports Wi-Fi 7 – although to be fair, connectivity (even for flagship phones) is rarely highlighted despite its undeniable importance.
Meanwhile at Wi-Fi NOW we’re always delighted to cover what others won’t, which in this case is a major leap forward in Wi-Fi connectivity for business PCs: Intel’s new vPro platform is the fourth generation of vPro platforms to support 6 GHz Wi-Fi and the first to include Wi-Fi 7 as a premium option, Intel says. Intel’s current BE200 Wi-Fi 7 chip is discrete but it is expected that future vPro generations will integrate Wi-Fi 7 capability into the platform for lowering costs and reaching mass-market scale.
But what’s most important is this: Intel says its Wi-Fi 7 delivers up to 5 times the data rate when compared to standard Wi-Fi 6 on ‘typical business networks’. The reason for leap in data rate is the expected more widespread use of 80 and 160 MHz channels in the 6 GHz band compared to the much smaller 20 or 40 MHz channels typically used in legacy networks (because of DFS and other spectrum constraints).
Now add to this the Intel Connectivity Performance Suite (ICPS) AI-based software for substantial reduction in latency for real-time voice and video calls, much-improved video resolution, as well as faster speeds. The BE200 chip also comes with Bluetooth 5.4 and LE Audio support for low-power, high-fidelity sound and up to 3X better headset range compared to a traditional USB dongle, Intel says.
The ultimate goal of the new vPro platform and its Wi-Fi 7 connectivity option is of course to boost business productivity. In addition to Wi-Fi 7 (as an option) it comes with plenty of features to support “amazing AI and standard business PC experiences,” Intel says. The platform features remote management for easier IT support, and even out-of-band-management (OOBM), which is a hardware-based feature allowing IT administrators to access devices even when they are powered down.
To improve the Wi-Fi user experience Intel continues to offer Intel Connectivity Analytics to select partners for insights into network health, security, location, and more (read more here). For more about Intel’s Wi-Fi portfolio also read here. We believe Intel’s work in bringing Wi-Fi 7 to market is enormously important in particular because enterprise Wi-Fi network upgrades to Wi-Fi 7 depend strongly on availability of business-grade Wi-Fi 7 computing devices. Now they’re here.
/Claus.
