Microsoft Windows 11 native support for Wi-Fi Dual Station, coupled with Qualcomm FastConnect 4-stream Dual Band Simultaneous and broad industry support, enables Gaming and PC OEMs to effortlessly deliver ethernet-like reliability and latency.
Ecosystem support from Acer, AMD, Lenovo, Microsoft, Snapdragon Compute Platforms and Valve
Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., together with ecosystem leaders spanning key platforms and OEMs, is set to redefine wireless expectations for latency-sensitive gaming, productivity and learning applications on Window’s 11 PCs with Qualcomm® FastConnect™ systems. Wi-Fi Dual Station designed using Qualcomm® 4-Stream Dual Band Simultaneous, harnesses multiple Wi-Fi bands and antennas concurrently, to outperform traditional single band connections. By simultaneously utilizing the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz band (or 6 GHz where available), latency issues in one band can be easily resolved at a system-level both quickly and transparently to the end user.
Qualcomm 4-stream Dual Band Simultaneous
“Microsoft is pleased to bring ‘Wi-Fi Dual Station’ to the Windows 11 ecosystem, enabling our Windows OEMs and ecosystem leaders to deliver low-latency performance on the latest Wi-Fi hardware. Games and other latency-sensitive applications can now leverage two concurrent Wi-Fi connections providing best-in-class user experiences,” said Ian LeGrow, vice president, program management for windows platforms and services, Microsoft.
“More so now than ever before, high-performance, robust and low-latency wireless connectivity is the critical factor in delivering compelling, engaging and immersive experiences,” said Dino Bekis, vice president and general manager, mobile and compute connectivity, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. “This unique collaboration with Microsoft was essential in realizing the promise of Windows 11 with Qualcomm Technologies’ latest Wi-Fi 6E 4-stream Dual Band Simultaneous devices. Through focused collaboration, we address today’s unprecedented wireless challenges and dramatically extend these premium capabilities to the entire ecosystem.”
Valve has added initial support for Wi-Fi Dual Station to the Steamworks SDK to deliver low latency and jitter-free online play for the millions playing games that utilize the Steamworks SDK for networking. This includes Valve’s popular online titles Dota 2 and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO), which will now benefit from the improved and sustained responsiveness when played on a Windows 11 gaming device with supporting FastConnect connectivity systems.
Even occasional high latency (jitter) events significantly deteriorate online game play which has historically caused PC gamers to stay tethered to Ethernet. Wi-Fi Dual Station with Qualcomm 4-stream Dual Band Simultaneous addresses the need for sustained low latency over extended periods of time, unleashing gaming experiences with wire-class responsiveness.
“We’re seeing considerable reductions in jitter and packet loss with Wi-Fi Dual Station enabled, especially when the AP is heavily loaded,” said Fletcher Dunn at Valve. “This is important for any online title, and especially beneficial for competitive online titles such as CS:GO and Dota 2. Games using the Steamworks SDK for networking will experience these same benefits with no added development time.”
In testing conducted by Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. with off-the-shelf retail Wi-Fi 6 Access Points, Wi-Fi Dual Station with Qualcomm 4-stream Dual Band Simultaneous consistently delivered sustained jitter free wireless gameplay similar to Ethernet latency under the same conditions. Further, in head-to-head wireless comparisons with Single Station Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Dual Station yielded 4x lower latency and sustained jitter-free gameplay, underscoring the immediate value to online gamers.
Qualcomm 4-stream Dual Band Simultaneous 2-in-1 performance
“Acer’s new gaming notebooks that feature FastConnect 6900 connectivity will provide ethernet-grade Wi-Fi,” said James Lin, General Manager, Notebooks, IT Products Business, Acer Inc. “With responsiveness offered by the Qualcomm 4-stream Dual Band Simultaneous, gamers will be able to enjoy a low-latency gaming experience without the wires.”
Beyond gaming, these technology advancements and capabilities provide material improvements for the ever-increasing demands of the enterprise PC industry. The combination of superior Wi-Fi 6 feature implementation (such as Wi-Fi Dual Station) and the extension of those capabilities to new 6 GHz spectrum (Wi-Fi 6E), are at the heart of addressing the exponentially growing demand for intense two-way data traffic (video calls, collaboration tools, remote management) and ensuring sustained productivity whether in a centralized office or decentralized remote work environment.
“We are excited to work with Qualcomm Technologies to deliver best-in-class connectivity solutions on AMD enterprise platforms,” said Jason Banta, Corporate Vice President and General Manager, Client OEM, AMD. “Leadership connectivity performance is critical, and together, FastConnect, Microsoft Windows and AMD raise the bar for speed, capacity and latency performance to bring exceptional hybrid-work experiences to a demanding workforce.”
“Working, learning, collaborating have all become distributed beyond what we could have imagined even two years ago, and connectivity must rise to the occasion to deliver the speed, capacity and reliable low latency needed to handle modern computing applications and environments. Wi-Fi Dual Station with Qualcomm 4-stream Dual Band Simultaneous, together with 6 GHz operation (Wi-Fi 6E) have enormous potential, and we applaud all involved in bringing these advanced wireless technologies to fruition. Lenovo is committed to delivering game-changing technology solutions and we look forward to harnessing these next gen features for a better customer experience in the future.” Luis Hernandez, vice president, PC and Smart Solutions Development, Lenovo Intelligent Devices Group.
Qualcomm FastConnect
For more information about FastConnect please visit https://www.qualcomm.com/products/wi-fi/fastconnect.
About Qualcomm
Qualcomm is the world’s leading wireless technology innovator and the driving force behind the development, launch, and expansion of 5G. When we connected the phone to the internet, the mobile revolution was born. Today, our foundational technologies enable the mobile ecosystem and are found in every 3G, 4G and 5G smartphone. We bring the benefits of mobile to new industries, including automotive, the internet of things, and computing, and are leading the way to a world where everything and everyone can communicate and interact seamlessly.
Qualcomm Incorporated includes our licensing business, QTL, and the vast majority of our patent portfolio. Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, operates, along with its subsidiaries, substantially all of our engineering, research and development functions, and substantially all of our products and services businesses, including our QCT semiconductor business.
Wi-Fi 6 is built to address the challenges of today’s connectivity landscape, leveraging new or enhanced versions of technologies like OFDMA and bi-directional MU-MIMO to manage the multi-user, simultaneous usage patterns that define modern Wi-Fi networks. However, peak Wi-Fi 6 performance depends on both expert implementation of these tools and the ability to use them together. Ensuring the right tool is applied to the right requirement and optimizing the combination of capabilities at any given moment has elevated the role of the network scheduler to one of singular importance. Simply stated, performance of the Wi-Fi 6 network scheduler is the best predictor of overall Wi-Fi 6 performance in a modern network.
Recently, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. demonstrated, through technical analysis, the importance of a high-performance network scheduler and published that analysis in a new research-based whitepaper. Our decades-long pedigree, derived from intensive research and development, yields a highly optimized network scheduler delivering significant performance advantages when compared to either legacy single-user scenarios or to competitors’ offerings.
The analyses were developed to measure both throughput and latency, key performance indicators across multiple intense usage network deployments. In one use case, the analysis illustrates the impact of Qualcomm Technologies’ scheduling in delivering airtime fairness (as measured in throughput per device) in a mixed client environment with both Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 5 devices.
Analysis conducted in Qualcomm Technologies’ labs.
Equal airtime fairness in mixed client environments is a critical factor in delivering a seamless Wi-Fi experience. Qualcomm Technologies set out to determine the impact our high-performance scheduler had on such a scenario. The results show an equal allocation of capacity, providing faster connections across all devices – Wi-Fi 6 and legacy – resulting in a significant performance boost per device. With up to 90 percent higher throughput per device, every user’s connectivity experience improved.
To further illustrate the performance of a Qualcomm Technologies’ scheduler, a second analysis was constructed with two scenarios. In these scenarios, the performance results between an access point based on the Qualcomm Networking Pro Series Wi-Fi 6 platform and a competitor’s Wi-Fi 6 access point were compared. These scenarios ran latency-sensitive real-time traffic, side by side, with heavy uplink traffic across the same network.
Analysis conducted in Qualcomm Technologies’ labs.
These analyses highlight implementation superiority. They also demonstrate the significant role our highly optimized scheduler plays in the real-time balancing between OFDMA use for the benefit of multiple users with relatively small payloads or MU-MIMO for multiple users with large payloads without having to sacrifice on either throughput (with an increase of up to 75 percent where throughput is the KPI) or latency (with an overall decrease of up to 69 percent in use cases where latency is the KPI).
Overall, these analyses clearly illustrate that the full performance benefits of Wi-Fi 6 are only achieved through high-performance network scheduling. Qualcomm Technologies’ highly differentiated high-performance Wi-Fi 6 network scheduler is offered across our networking product portfolios, supporting our customers to deliver leading-edge connectivity in the home, school, public, and enterprise environments. From video conferencing and gaming to voice and beyond, unlocking the full benefits Wi-Fi 6 is transforming industries and empowering new and improved experiences for users.
New modular architecture brings high-performance, cost-effective Wi-Fi 6E mesh deployment designed to deliver wireless Gigabit speeds throughout the connected home
OCT 27, 2020SAN DIEGO
Qualcomm products mentioned within this press release are offered by Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries.
Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. today unveiled the Qualcomm® Immersive Home Platforms, a successor to the company’s groundbreaking mesh networking platforms. Designed to deploy Gigabit-speed wireless performance to every room in the home in form factors as small as the palm of the hand, these devices are cost-effective enough to target low consumer price points. This engineering feat is achieved through a novel modular architecture approach, significant advancements in network packet processing technology and an integration of next-generation Wi-Fi 6 and 6E.
In the face of skyrocketing home data demand, Immersive Home Platforms offer four distinct product tiers. These tiers grant unprecedented design flexibility to manufacturers and broadband carriers motivated to embrace Wi-Fi 6 and 6E mesh architectures comprehensively across their entire product portfolio. As home network performance has become mission critical, Qualcomm Technologies is meeting the challenge to provide corner-to-corner Gigabit wireless performance, in an effort to ensure every meeting is productive, every classroom is engaged, and every device is connected.
“We have launched the Qualcomm Immersive Home platforms, a fresh approach to home networking leveraging high powered Wi-Fi 6 and 6E, a fresh architectural design customized for home deployments, and advanced features designed to deliver Gigabit performance to every corner of the home,” said Nick Kucharewski, vice president and general manager, Wireless Infrastructure & Networking, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. “Today, as offices, classrooms, movie theatres, and everything in between move into the home, high performance Wi-Fi has transitioned from luxury to mission critical utility.”
“Before COVID-19, the proliferation of Wi-Fi-enabled products in the home and increasingly HD, 4k, and soon 8k video meant an increasing focus on more capable Wi-Fi access points by consumers and service providers,” said Phil Solis, research director at IDC. “During the COVID-19 pandemic, network needs became even more pronounced with many Wi-Fi networks stressed by the shift to more work, education, and entertainment from home. Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E mesh network solutions such as the Qualcomm Immersive Home Platforms are critical to enabling Wi-Fi access point vendors to be provide the range, data rates, and capacity now required in many homes.”
“Wi-Fi’s popularity has created increasingly diverse and densely populated Wi-Fi environments, including home networks which must now support many demanding applications simultaneously,” said Kevin Robinson, senior vice president of Marketing, Wi-Fi Alliance. “The capabilities of Wi-Fi 6E, such as gigabit speeds, low latency, and high capacity, will benefit users where they now need it most and allow Wi-Fi devices to operate efficiently in the most dynamic home connectivity settings.”
“While everyone now understands the incredible importance of Wi-Fi networks in work-from-home and learn-from-home environments, not everyone knows about the benefits that modern Wi-Fi mesh networks can provide,” said Bob O’Donnell, president and Chief Analyst, TECHnalysis Research, LLC. “In addition, not every household has the same requirements. The beauty of a modular platform is that it lets OEMs and consumers tackle everything from forward-looking massive bandwidth applications using 6GHz Wi-Fi 6E to tiny mesh extenders that can inconspicuously bring stronger traditional Wi-Fi signals to every room in a home.”
Qualcomm Immersive Home 310 Series
Representing the Qualcomm® Tri-Band Wi-Fi 6 platforms within the portfolio, the 310 Series offerings are designed to simultaneously leverage all three bands of spectrum to support IoT-class devices (2.4GHz), today’s legacy media devices (5GHz), and enable congestion-relieving migration of node-to-node backhaul traffic from 5GHz to the 6GHz band, while ensuring the network is prepared to support devices supporting emerging 6GHz applications (VR/XR, live video sharing/streaming, real-time gaming).
Qualcomm Immersive Home 210 Series
Representing the Dual-Band Wi-Fi 6 platforms within the portfolio, these offerings are designed to offer immediate and significant performance and cost benefits to existing mesh providers.
In both dual and tri-band series, Qualcomm Immersive Home Platforms bring significant differentiation derived from decades of R&D and proven infrastructure engineering expertise across multiple proprietary connectivity portfolios, including:
Askey
“Askey customers demand high-performance home networks that make working and schooling from home as seamless as streaming their favorite movies. This means ultra-fast, reliable Wi-Fi performance and robust security components. We look forward to continued collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies and the Qualcomm Immersive Home Platforms to continuously evolve the seamless, connected experiences our customers demand,” said Robert Lin, CEO, Askey Computer Corp.
AVM
“Last-mile technologies such as fiber, coax or even DSL are now reaching the Gigabit mark. These superfast speeds are increasingly becoming a matter of course in the home. We welcome the Qualcomm Immersive Home Platforms, which will give Mesh Wi-Fi a tremendous boost and ensures future-proof performance for wireless communication,” says Peter Faxel, CTO at AVM.
Belkin
“At Linksys, our mission is to build innovative, future-ready wireless technologies that will someday connect every person and everything in the world, effortlessly, reliably, and securely,” said L.C. Wu, chief operating officer, Connected Home Division (Linksys Wemo, Phyn), Belkin International. “Linksys consumers demand high-performance networks that make working and schooling from home a seamless experience. We look forward to continued collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies to endlessly evolve our portfolios bringing more Wi-Fi 6 and new Wi-Fi 6E products to consumers. Wi-Fi 6E will take our Intelligent Mesh technology to the next level.”
Cognitive Systems
“The launch of the Qualcomm Immersive Home Platform is an advancement for Wi-Fi beyond just better performance,” said Taj Manku, CEO and Co-Founder of Cognitive Systems. “The new platform also enables WiFi Motion™ sensingapplications like home monitoring that bring meaningful value to Wi-Fi users and provide peace of mind beyond just connectivity. We are proud to be a partner with Qualcomm Technologies and appreciate its collaboration to bolster advanced Wi-Fi technologies like WiFi Motion.”
EnGenius
“As the demand for faster connectivity continues to grow, we are excited to expand our Wi-Fi 6 solutions to support consumers growing demands within their homes,” said Eric Chen, director of sales and marketing at EnGenius. “With the Immersive Home Platform from Qualcomm supporting our devices, we are bringing the power of Wi-Fi 6 to consumers to meet the ever-growing demands for building future-proof wireless networks within their homes.”
eero
“Increasingly our customers are working from home, helping kids with online learning, video-chatting with friends and family, and streaming and gaming in 4K,” said Nick Weaver, Co-Founder and CEO of eero. “They need fast, reliable and secure wifi to deliver these experiences and we look forward to continued collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies to provide the performance our customers expect.”
Netgear
“NETGEAR customers demand high-performance home networks that make working and schooling from home as seamless as streaming their favorite movies. This means ultra-fast, reliable Wi-Fi performance for every connected device in the home. We look forward to continued collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies to continuously evolve the seamless, connected experiences our customers demand with Wi-Fi 6E,” said David Henry, senior vice president, Connected Home at NETGEAR.
Plume
“The foundation of Plume’s Consumer Experience Management Platform is based on intelligent cloud controlled OpenSync™-enabled devices,” says Sri Nathan, vice president of Plume Business Development. “Qualcomm Technologies’ Immersive Home Platform products ensure the capacity and controls for flawless connectivity in the home, allowing ISPs to deliver new services, over the top with confidence.”
TP-Link
“We’re excited about Qualcomm Technologies’ announcement of the Qualcomm Immersive Home Platforms and recognize how it will further promote the adoption of Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E,” said Pingji Li, general manager of TP-Link Consumer and Enterprise BU. “TP-Link customers will experience more diversified mesh networking devices, offering ultra-fast, reliable Wi-Fi and robust security. Thanks to our collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies, everyone can embrace the trend of connecting everything.”
WNC
“With our Wi-Fi 6E tri-band mesh router, WNC offers a product line that pushes the boundaries of the ordinary. By integrating Qualcomm Technologies’ Immersive Home Platform, we enable our customers to benefit from the latest improvements in mesh networking, including high speeds and Wi-Fi 6 management, creating a most powerful and robust home network,” said Chun Lee, president of WNC’s Global Business Development Division.
Xiaomi
“With our Xiaomi AIoT Wi-Fi 6 Router products, Xiaomi has designed a line that pushes the boundaries of ordinary. By integrating the Qualcomm Immersive Home Platforms, we will allow our customers to benefit from the latest improvements in mesh networking, including high speeds and Wi-Fi 6 management, creating a more powerful and robust home network,” said Xinyu Liu, general manager of Intelligent Hardware Division, Xiaomi.
Qualcomm Immersive Home Platforms are sampling now to customers. For more information about our Wi-Fi 6 and 6E products for the home, visit Qualcomm WiFi Mesh Network page.
About Qualcomm
Qualcomm is the world’s leading wireless technology innovator and the driving force behind the development, launch, and expansion of 5G. When we connected the phone to the internet, the mobile revolution was born. Today, our foundational technologies enable the mobile ecosystem and are found in every 3G, 4G and 5G smartphone. We bring the benefits of mobile to new industries, including automotive, the internet of things, and computing, and are leading the way to a world where everything and everyone can communicate and interact seamlessly.
Qualcomm Incorporated includes our licensing business, QTL, and the vast majority of our patent portfolio. Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, operates, along with its subsidiaries, substantially all of our engineering, research and development functions, and substantially all of our products and services businesses, including our QCT semiconductor business.
