At the start of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2024, the Wi-Fi Alliance announced that U.S. operator Lumen Technologies has received Wi-Fi 7 certifications for two wireless devices.
Lumen designed its devices for its internet service provider (ISP) brand, Quantum Fiber’s residential and small business customers to deliver faster speeds and better coverage than Wi-Fi 6/6E.
What is Wi-Fi 7?
Wi-Fi 7 is the latest Wi-Fi standard, and is designed to bring faster connections, lower latency, and the ability to manage more devices.
It enables faster speeds by allowing more data-per-transmission, so ISPs can pass these speeds onto their customers.
What are Lumen’s Wi-Fi 7 certified devices?
Lumen’s W1700K device can be desk or wall mounted, and is designed to cover 90% of homes with higher data capacity than Wi-Fi 6/6E. The W1701K is a fully compliant wall plug-in device that can extend the Wi-Fi 7 coverage throughout larger areas of the home or business to reduce dead zones.
Lumen's solution includes MediaTek's Smart Link-Dispatch technology, a QOS/QOE feature built into the Wi-Fi radio, enhancing application performance with high-bandwidth and low-latency traffic in real-world settings. The company’s Quantum Fiber Wi-Fi 7 solution is an FCC 6GHz Standard Power (6SD) class device. The 6SD equipment class enables higher transmit power for increased data throughput or twice the range as compared to the theoretical indoor standard (6ID). With the 6GHz channel and the higher power setting, these devices wirelessly unlock the full power of the Quantum Fiber high speed product up to 8Gb/s, helping to enable higher data rates throughout a home or business.
Both devices also support cloud-based Digital Twin technology and use the carrier grade OpenWRT standard with Wi-Fi EasyMesh and prplMesh enabling real time orchestration and advanced device management capabilities.
Maxine Moreau, Lumen president of Mass Markets says: "We are proud that our Wi-Fi 7 devices are the first certified by Wi-Fi Alliance. This demonstrates our commitment to deliver the best Wi-Fi solutions to our customers as we continue to innovate for growth. Our Wi-Fi 7 devices offer faster speeds than Wi-Fi 6/6E, low latency, and amazing coverage allowing users to enjoy the next generation of Wi-Fi applications and services."
Quantum Fiber installed its first customer Wi-Fi 7 device in December. Wi-Fi 7 will be available to new Quantum Fiber customers later this month.
Lumen is showcasing its new wireless technology at CES in the Smart Home section on booth #35-209.
