Qualcomm unveils immersive home platform for next-generation mesh wi-fi networks

Qualcomm has unveiled the Qualcomm Immersive Home Platforms, a successor to the company’s 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 todeliver 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’Donnel, 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 6platforms 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 6GHzapplications (VR/XR, live video sharing/streaming, real-time gaming).

Qualcomm Immersive Home 318 Platform:

Advanced 8-stream Tri-Band in a 2x2(2.4GHz) + 2x2 (5GHz) +4x4 (6GHz) configuration, for a total of 7.8 Gbps total available PHY rate.

Multi-gigabit wireless throughput for high-performance clients.

Support for 160 MHz channels in 5/6GHz bands

4x4 Wi-Fi 6E configuration in the 6GHz band delivers enhanced performance, range, and/or client count

Qualcomm Immersive Home 316 Platform:

Advanced 6-stream Tri-Band in a 2x2 (2.4GHz) + 2x2 (5GHz) + 2x2 (6GHz) configuration, for a total of 5.4 Gbps total available PHY rate.

Multi-gigabit wireless throughput for high-performance clients.

Support for 160 MHz channels in 5/6GHz bands

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.

Qualcomm Immersive Home 216 Platform:

Innovative 6-stream Wi-Fi 6 in a 2x2 (2.4GHz) + 4x4 (5GHz) configuration, for a total of 5.4 Gbps total available PHY rate.

Multi-gigabit wireless throughput for high-performance clients.

Support for 160 MHz channels in 5GHz bands

4x4 Wi-Fi 6 configuration in the 5GHz band delivers enhanced performance, range, and/or client count

Qualcomm Immersive Home 214 Platform:

Innovative 4-stream Wi-Fi 6 in a 2x2 (2.4GHz) + 2x2 (5GHz) configuration, for a total of 3.0 Gbps total available PHY rate.

Multi-gigabit wireless throughput for high-performance clients.

Support for 160 MHz channels in 5GHz bands

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:

High-performance integration and optimization: QualcommImmersive Home Platformscan delivers Gigabit wireless in a form factor highly optimized for size, scale, and performance.

For instance, when compared to Qualcomm IPQ4xxx family (found in the majority of Wi-Fi 5-generation mesh systems), Qualcomm Immersive Home Platformscan delivers 2.5X throughput per watt - a system-level optimization that keeps industrial designs small, heat profiles cool, and overall device costs low.

Broad Wi-Fi Mesh technology support: QualcommImmersive HomePlatforms are built to deliver seamless roaming, band/node client steering, and advanced security safeguards across Wi-Fi 4, 5, 6, 6E, and support many of the industry’s leading mesh software protocols including Qualcomm Wi-Fi SON, the OpenSync open-source software and the Wi-Fi Alliance’s Wi-Fi CERTIFIED EasyMesh standard.

Powerful smart home integration capabilities: QualcommImmersive Home Platforms feature advanced Qualcomm Multi-User Traffic Management technologies to balance and support all the Wi-Fi connected devices in a modern smart home, while high-performance Bluetooth integration enables seamless onboarding and integration of advanced applications leveraging either connectivity technology.

Ultra-low latency enabled: Qualcomm Immersive Home Platforms can support, in certain configurations with 6GHz operation, anew class of emerging latency-sensitive applications like mobile gaming and XR through latency reduction up to 8x in congested environments and wireless VR-class latency of <3ms.

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 sensing applications 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.”

 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 HomePlatforms are sampling now to customers.