(Reuters) – Qualcomm announced on Wednesday its entry into the Wi-Fi router market, with Charter Communications and the UK’s EE among its first customers.
The San Diego-based company is widely known as the world’s largest supplier of chips for mobile phone connections to cellular networks. However, it has also been selling Wi-Fi chips for consumer routers.
Qualcomm revealed that it will target a new segment within the market by selling gateways, which are devices typically provided by broadband carriers. These act as an entry point for a physical fiber-optic line from the carrier into a user’s home, transforming it into a Wi-Fi signal.
Both EE and Charter, also known as Spectrum in the broadband market, have announced plans to use Qualcomm routers, effective next year.
The new routers will incorporate Wi-Fi 7, a recently introduced standard designed to enhance data flow in homes with numerous Wi-Fi devices, including phones and smart TVs.
Furthermore, these Qualcomm routers will enable carriers to prioritize traffic from specific apps and services, such as streaming video platforms. This prioritized traffic will benefit from faster speeds through agreements made between carriers and app providers. However, it should be noted that such practices may not be permitted in all jurisdictions. Nevertheless, the routers will ensure that the speed boost remains constant as the traffic transitions from the carrier’s fiber network to the customer’s home Wi-Fi.
“The operator is able to orchestrate a service as defined by the service level agreement with the app provider. And so for example, your Netflix traffic is not going to be compromised,” stated Rahul Patel, senior vice president and general manager for connectivity, broadband, and networking at Qualcomm in an interview with Reuters.
Additionally, Qualcomm disclosed its acquisition of OptiCore Technologies, a small optical networking firm. The financial details of the acquisition were not revealed, as Qualcomm deemed it too small to significantly impact its financial results.
(Reporting by Stephen Nellis in San Francisco)
Credit: The Star : Tech Feed
