By Claus Hetting, Wi-Fi NOW CEO & Chairman
Connected PCs and high-performance Wi-Fi networks are business-critical for the wireless enterprise – and now Intel & Cisco are deepening their collaboration to boost business productivity through exceptional wireless experiences and innovation. The two wireless tech giants have formally extended their partnership with a new MoU signed at this year’s Mobile World Congress. The agreement was announced by Intel today.
There is hardly anything more important for productivity than high-performance wireless networks and connected PCs – and who better than Intel & Cisco to make sure enterprises are ready for a new generation of Wi-Fi? With Cisco as the undisputed market share leader in enterprise Wi-Fi and Intel the major provider of connected PCs, the two together are once again setting the leadership pace for fast deployment and evolution of next gen wireless, this time of course with focus on Wi-Fi 7.
The new MoU signed at this year’s Mobile World Congress means that the Cisco and Intel – as a first important step – will work together to enhance Wi-Fi 7 interoperability. Interoperability is particularly important as the new standard promises vast connectivity improvements while at the same time introducing new degrees of complexity with features such as Multi-Link Operation, the concurrent use of multiple bands, and more, Intel says.
“There’s no doubt that Wi-Fi 7 will revolutionize the wireless enterprise landscape by driving extreme productivity, and the timing couldn’t be more perfect as we witness AI permeating every facet of the enterprise. Ensuring top-tier interoperability for excellent connectivity quality is our primary focus. We are delighted to join forces with Cisco to bring Wi-Fi 7 technology and products to the forefront of the market,” says Eric Mclaughlin, Vice President of Client Computing Group and General Manager of Wireless Solutions Group at Intel.
He also says that Intel’s close co-engineering effort with Cisco aims to ensure robust interoperability and performance between Cisco Access Points and Intel PC client devices, leading to significant enhancement of the wireless connectivity experience for Intel customers. “We deeply value our collaboration with an industry leader like Cisco and eagerly anticipate working together to deliver exceptional connectivity solutions to enterprises in 2024 and beyond,” Eric Mclaughlin says.
The two wireless tech giants have worked together for years. In 2021 the Intel & Cisco partnership effort resulted in Cisco Wi-Fi networks accessing Intel Connectivity Analytics data for better ‘client visibility’ and hence more effective Wi-Fi network optimization and troubleshooting (more here). The two companies have over the years also worked together closely to ensure Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E interoperability.
But this time the stakes are arguably higher because Wi-Fi 7 represents an even bigger technological leap forward. Extreme High Throughput (EHT), extreme low latency, better roaming performance, band steering, improved load balancing – these are all key components of the transition to Wi-Fi 7 and all need careful coordination between the network and PC clients, Cisco says.
“Cisco and Intel are united by a shared spirit of innovation. Our collaborative efforts have consistently focused on creating products that cater to the needs of both the end user and IT professionals. In our latest venture with Intel, we’re redefining industry benchmarks for Wi-Fi dependability and ease of management. Simultaneously, we’re transforming traditional practices by sharing anonymised Wi-Fi analytics between consumer devices and the network infrastructure. This exchange is vital, as the effectiveness of AI is intrinsically linked to the caliber and quantity of the data it processes. We’re also utilising the insights gained from this data to develop next-generation Wi-Fi protocols,” says Matt MacPherson, Wireless CTO at Cisco.
Intel has already unveiled its Wi-Fi 7 client solution for PC devices, the Intel® Wi-Fi 7 BE200 series. Cisco has as yet not made any Wi-Fi 7 announcements but it is probably safe to assume that Cisco is gearing up to launch its Wi-Fi 7 Access Point (AP) product for enterprises soon.
/Claus.
