By Claus Hetting, WiFi NOW CEO & Chairman
Wi-Fi Alliance and Bluetooth SIG join forces to resolve 6 GHz coexistence
Bluetooth SIG wants to use the 6 GHz band for future Bluetooth services – and that puts Bluetooth and Wi-Fi on a collision course. As of July 19, the Wi-Fi Alliance Bluetooth SIG are initiating joint work aimed at achieving fair coexistence between Bluetooth® and Wi-Fi® technologies, Bluetooth SIG says in statement here. “The collaborative work between the two organizations will focus on identifying practical methodologies and technical frameworks to evaluate coexistence across unlicensed spectrum bands to ensure both technologies continue delivering high-quality user experiences,” Bluetooth SIG says. According to a source knowledgable on the matter, for now coexistence test methodology is based on modelling (as opposed to lab testing), which ultimately may prove to be a credibility challenge.
Plume announces Peter Wulfraat as new CRO
Home Wi-Fi optimisation and QoE pioneers Plume have announced that Peter Wulfraat has become the latest addition to the company’s executive team. The new Chief Revenue Officer “will lead Plume’s worldwide go-to-market strategy, sales operations and partner engagement as the company enters its next phase of commercial expansion,” Plume says in a press release here.
The new hire is important as it brings a proven track record in scaling AI services to the executive team. “Mr. Wulfraat brings more than 25 years of experience selling and scaling enterprise AI and customer experience solutions to global brands across telecommunications, financial services and healthcare, with go-to-market leadership spanning North American, European and Asia-Pacific markets,” Plume says. Previous employment includes leading Kore.ai to a six-fold expansion of its business.
Could multi-beam become the next differentiator for enterprise Wi-Fi?
Extreme Networks may have jumped ahead of the competition within the last few weeks – at least with regards to Wi-Fi solutions for stadiums and other high-density public venues. Extreme’s “Multi‑Beam Wireless™” delivers hyper-directional Wi-Fi to sixteen antenna sectors (seating areas) through the application of a MatSing lens antenna system. The directional antenna system is fed by 16 Extreme Networks APs mounted in a chassis. In this way focused Wi-Fi RF energy can be directed to specific seating sections, driving up Wi-Fi performance for users. We will have more to say about Extreme’s significant innovation in high-density Wi-Fi within a few weeks. Read more here.
The race to validate Wi-Fi 8 has begun
Commercial Wi-Fi 8 (IEEE 802.11bn) products are still some way off – but the test and measurement industry is already preparing for the next generation of wireless networking. Rohde & Schwarz recently demonstrated pre-standard Wi-Fi 8 testing together with Qualcomm, highlighting the industry’s focus on validating new Ultra High Reliability (UHR) features before the standard is finalised. Unlike previous Wi-Fi generations, Wi-Fi 8 prioritises reliability, lower latency, and more deterministic performance rather than peak throughput, creating new challenges for chipset vendors and device manufacturers. Early validation will play a critical role in accelerating product development and ensuring interoperability as Wi-Fi 8 moves closer to commercial deployment. Rohde & Schwarz is also working with NETGEAR for Wi-Fi 8 testing.
/Claus.
