By Claus Hetting, WiFi NOW CEO & Chairman
Qualcomm released a slew of announcements this week at Network X in Vienna – below the most important from a wireless connectivity point of view.
gFiber, Qualcomm and Gemtek unveil AI-native Wi-Fi 8 gateway for 20 Gbps broadband
Qualcomm, gFiber (formerly Google Fiber), and Gemtek have unveiled a new AI-native Wi-Fi 8 residential gateway designed to support gFiber’s symmetrical 20 Gbps broadband service. Announced at Network X in Vienna, the gateway combines next-generation Wi-Fi connectivity with powerful on-device AI processing, potentially marking an important step towards intelligent home broadband services.
Qualcomm says this will be gFiber’s flagship symmetrical 20 Gbps broadband router and “is intended to elevate the Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) from a piece of technology tucked away out of sight to a striking high-compute, living-room centrepiece, designed to serve as a household’s internet hub and the local platform for agentic AI at the edge.” Read the full announcement here.
The gateway is powered by Qualcomm’s Dragonwing NPro A8 Elite platform and supports concurrent quad-band Wi-Fi 8 (802.11bn), a dedicated Hexagon neural processing unit (NPU), and a penta-core CPU. The integrated AI capabilities enable subscribers to interact with their home networks using natural-language commands, including managing parental controls, configuring guest access, integrating smart-home devices, and diagnosing connectivity problems. An interactive touchscreen provides another interface for managing broadband services directly from the gateway.
Existing gFiber 20 Gig customers are expected to be the first to receive the new equipment following certification, while gFiber is also planning a residential 50G PON trial in spring 2027. The announcement reinforces two increasingly important trends: The arrival of Wi-Fi 8 for premium residential broadband gateways (primarily delivered by fibre operators) and the migration of AI-based network intelligence from cloud platforms directly onto home gateways.
According to Qualcomm, moving AI processing from the cloud directly onto the home gateway offers important privacy benefits by allowing sensitive home-network information to remain local. Its new Dragonwing NPro A8 Elite platform combines a dedicated Hexagon neural processing unit (NPU) with an edge AI software framework, enabling intelligent services and agentic AI to operate directly on the gateway. Qualcomm says this architecture reduces dependence on Cloud processing while improving responsiveness. In the new gFiber Wi-Fi 8 gateway, local AI processing supports applications such as voice-controlled parental controls and network management. The approach could also provide a foundation for more privacy-conscious broadband services.
Qualcomm formally launches Dragonwing SAM broadband intelligence and security platform
Also at Network X this week, Qualcomm formally launched its Dragonwing Security and Management (SAM) platform. The platform combines intelligence running locally on home gateways with Cloud-based capabilities to help ISPs improve broadband performance, strengthen cybersecurity, and deliver more personalised subscriber services.
Dragonwing SAM supports device identification, network monitoring, troubleshooting, security management, and broadband experience optimisation. Importantly, Qualcomm says the software operates across both Qualcomm and third-party silicon, with support for RDK-B, prplOS, and OpenWrt.
Qualcomm says Dragonwing SAM provides ISPs with detailed visibility into connected devices, network traffic, and application usage, enabling more effective broadband experience optimisation, troubleshooting, and customer care. The platform also delivers cybersecurity services, including threat detection, vulnerability mitigation, and protection against malware, phishing, ransomware, and other attacks. Qualcomm additionally positions SAM as a foundation for new value-added subscriber services developed by ISPs and third-party software providers.
Although formally introduced this week, the underlying technology already has a substantial commercial footprint. According to Qualcomm, Dragonwing SAM agents are deployed on more than 10 million home gateways, including those operated by Tier-1 service providers in North America, Europe, and Latin America. The launch represents Qualcomm’s continued expansion beyond connectivity silicon into broadband intelligence and software services, potentially increasing competition with established ISP management and cybersecurity platform providers.
Qualcomm launches Dragonwing FWA Gen 6 Elite platform combining 5G Advanced, Wi-Fi 8, and agentic AI
Last but not least – also at Network X this week, Qualcomm introduced its Dragonwing FWA Gen 6 Elite platform, combining 5G Advanced, tri-band Wi-Fi 8, satellite connectivity, and agentic AI in a next-generation fixed wireless access (FWA) solution.
Built around Qualcomm’s X105 5G Modem-RF system, the platform supports peak theoretical download speeds of 14.8 Gbps and uploads of 4.2 Gbps, together with a 5×5 Wi-Fi 8 radio architecture. The modem features a 3GPP Release 19-ready design, providing a foundation for future 6G developments. Importantly, Qualcomm’s fifth-generation 5G AI Processor introduces agentic AI capabilities directly into the modem, enabling dynamic congestion detection, traffic prioritisation, antenna management, and recovery from connectivity interruptions.
Integrated satellite connectivity through NR-NTN and NB-NTN extends potential applications to remote locations beyond terrestrial network coverage. The platform is designed to help operators deliver higher-performance residential and business broadband while improving reliability, network efficiency, and deployment flexibility.
Dragonwing FWA Gen 6 Elite is arguably Qualcomm’s most comprehensive FWA platform to date, bringing together virtually everything required for next-generation wireless broadband in one integrated solution. By combining 5G Advanced, Wi-Fi 8, satellite connectivity, and on-device AI, Qualcomm is positioning the platform as an intelligent end-to-end broadband architecture rather than simply a high-performance 5G modem. The integration could simplify equipment design while allowing operators to optimise connectivity across both the wide-area 5G link and the local Wi-Fi network. It also strengthens the proposition for FWA as a competitive alternative to fixed-line broadband services.
/Claus.
