Cisco, Intel expand Wi-Fi 7 partnership

Cisco and Intel have expanded their partnership to focus on jointly developing Wi-Fi 7 technologies and strengthening interoperability between Cisco access points and Intel client devices.

The agreement includes investments by both companies to develop next-gen Wi-Fi 7 solutions and deliver product interoperability through joint labs, early code sharing and testing, according to Thomas Hannaford, a communications manager with Intel, who wrote a blog about the agreement. Additional efforts are focused on technologies to handle latency-sensitive applications and enhanced traffic prioritization for more reliable connectivity, Hannaford stated.  

Wi-Fi 7 also known as 802.11be, is expected to reduce latency, increase network capacity, boost efficiency, and support more connected devices. It’s still early days for Wi-Fi 7, however. The IEEE is expected to agree to the final spec later this year, and the Wi-Fi Alliance has only just begun its official certification program for Wi-Fi 7 devices and products.

Wi-Fi 7 will utilize Extremely High Throughput (EHT) to deliver peak data rates of more than 40Gbps, making it significantly faster than previous generations of the Wi-Fi standard. The technology targets mostly physical (PHY) and medium access control (MAC) improvements capable of supporting a maximum throughput of at least 30Gbps, experts say.

Another feature of Wi-Fi 7 is multi-link operation (MLO), which allows devices to simultaneously send and receive data across different frequency bands and channels, enhancing the efficiency of wireless connections. Additional features such as encryption and authentication over WPA3 Enterprise further strengthen Wi-Fi security, Hannaford stated.

“Through this cooperation, Intel and Cisco will provide a significantly higher level of end-to-end reliability, robust high throughput, low latency and deterministic Wi-Fi 7 performance by optimizing MLO and Quality of Service Management, as well as utilizing 6ghz spectrum on Low Power Indoor and standard power Automated Frequency Coordination,” Hannaford stated.  

Intel said WiFi7 development will complement its recently announced AI PC platforms, which feature a built-in neural processing unit and power-efficient AI acceleration and local inference on the PC. The integration of Wi-Fi 7 technology into Intel’s AI PC platform promises improved network performance, reduced latency, and increased bandwidth – all core requirements to support AI applications that require high-speed data transfer and low-latency connections.

Cisco and Intel have a history in wireless

Cisco and Intel have worked together for many years to enhance wireless services. 

Last year, the vendors announced they would create reference architectures for 5G services that could be used for internet of things (IoT), manufacturing, supply chain, or smart sites, for example. The companies intend to make the architectures available to managed service provider partners.

Cisco’s subscription-based, private 5G managed service draws from its mobile-core technology and its IoT portfolio, which includes Cisco IoT Control Center and Cisco P5G Packet Core as well as IoT sensors and gateways. It also includes device management software and monitoring tools, all available via a single portal, according to Cisco.

Cisco and Intel also have worked with 5G device and radio access network (RAN) manufacturers, as well as enterprise application-software developers, to offer validated and customized services. They will work together on edge AI frameworks based on Intel’s Xeon processors, Intel Smart Edge for multi-access edge computing, and RAN offerings, the companies stated.

The vendors also operate 5G innovation labs in California, Germany, and Japan, where customers can test applications before putting them into production.