Qualcomm Enters Residential Wi-Fi Router Market with Spectrum Deal

Qualcomm on Wednesday stated it was moving into a brand new marketplace for Wi-Fi routers and that Spectrum can be amongst its first clients.

The San Diego-based wi-fi pioneer is the world’s largest provider of the chips that assist cellphones connect with mobile information networks, but it surely has additionally lengthy had a enterprise promoting chips for client Wi-Fi routers.

The corporate stated Wednesday it’s moving into a brand new phase of that market by promoting what are referred to as gateways, a tool typically provided by broadband carriers the place a bodily fiber-optic line from a service enters the house and is remodeled right into a Wi-Fi sign.

Spectrum and the UK’s EE stated they are going to each use routers from Qualcomm beginning subsequent 12 months.

The brand new gadgets will use a brand new customary known as Wi-Fi 7 that’s designed to assist information movement sooner round properties the place scores of gadgets from telephones to sensible televisions typically use Wi-Fi.

The brand new Qualcomm routers may even enable carriers to prioritize site visitors from some particular apps and companies reminiscent of streaming video platforms which have agreements with carriers for sooner speeds, a apply that isn’t allowed in all jurisdictions.

However in locations the place it’s authorized, the brand new Qualcomm routers will guarantee that the pace enhance doesn’t disappear as soon as the site visitors leaves the service’s fiber community and hits the client’s dwelling Wi-Fi.

“The operator is ready to orchestrate a service as outlined by the service stage settlement with the app supplier. And so for instance, your Netflix site visitors just isn’t going to be compromised,” Rahul Patel, senior vp and common supervisor for connectivity, broadband and networking at Qualcomm, instructed Reuters.

Qualcomm additionally stated that it has acquired a small optical networking agency known as OptiCore Applied sciences. Qualcomm didn’t disclose the value of the acquisition, saying it too small to be materials to its monetary outcomes.