MaxLinear, Inc., a global leader in broadband access and gateway solutions, today announced its Wi-Fi 7 chipsets and Tri-band Access Point were certified by Wi-Fi Alliance and selected as one of the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 7 test bed devices. Wi-Fi Alliance's Wi-Fi 7 certification helps verify that upcoming Wi-Fi 7 devices can seamlessly interoperate and deliver the high-performance promises of the new standard. The inclusion of MaxLinear's innovative, single-chip Wi-Fi 7 solution in the verification process exemplifies its continuing commitment to pushing the boundaries of in-home communications and reshaping the way service providers build access and connectivity networks.

"At MaxLinear, we're not just leading the pack with Wi-Fi 7 technology; we're redefining it. Our single-chip tri-band device is an industry first, symbolizing a giant leap in wireless communication," said Will Torgerson, VP/GM Broadband Group. "With our focus on power efficiency and peak performance, we're at the forefront of the Wi-Fi 7 revolution, offering blazing-fast speeds, reduced latency, and robust connectivity. As part of the Wi-Fi Alliance, we celebrate 25 years of Wi-Fi innovation and remain committed to advancing a connected world where our groundbreaking solutions enable seamless, multi-gigabit broadband access.""Wi-Fi CERTIFIED helps ensure advanced Wi-Fi 7 features are deployed in a consistent way to help deliver high-quality user experiences," said Kevin Robinson, president and CEO, Wi-Fi Alliance. "Test bed vendors like MaxLinear make up an important group of companies that are committed to bringing high-quality Wi-Fi 7 to market."

The test bed uses MaxLinear's Tri-band Access Point product with three frequency bands: 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz using MaxLinear's single Wi-Fi SoC. The Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 7 Access Point improves speeds, capacity, and efficiency, making them ideal for high-density environments. The access point includes the advanced features of 4K QAM, Multi Link Operations (MLO), Multi RU and puncturing, MU-MIMO, OFDMA, advanced beamforming, and power-saving enhancements.

The MaxLinear Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 7 SoC product family (MxL31712 and MxL31708) is based on the upcoming IEEE 802.11be standard (Extremely High Throughput - EHT) and delivers 11.5 Gbps of peak throughput on 6 GHz (6E) spectrum, delivering speeds twice as fast as the previous Wi-Fi 6 generation. As a result of its innovative architecture which combines the Tri-band Access Point into a single Wi-Fi SoC, MaxLinear's Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 7 SoCs show superior performance and latency both in Single User Single Link as well as Multi Link and Multi User scenarios - all of this with optimized bill of materials (BOM) and best in class low power modes.

At CES, MaxLinear will showcase the ultra-low power consumption of its Wi-Fi 7 based XGSPON Home Gateway platform, consuming less than 5.7 watts in idle mode and between 7.4 to 9 watts under typical use case scenarios.

Consumer demand for uses such as 4K and 8K video, electronic gaming, immersive 3D (metaverse), generative AI, remote health monitoring, and in-home IoT devices such as security cameras and thermostats drives the need for more bandwidth that can bring higher throughputs and lower latency. Wi-Fi 7 offers a significant technological advancement, enhancing latency, speed, range, reliability, and improved security. For more information on the advanced features of Wi-Fi 7, read the Wi-Fi Alliance announcement introducing Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 7.

Will Torgerson, VP/GM for MaxLinear's Broadband Group, will talk more about the importance of Wi-Fi 7 to the market on The Signal, the Wi-Fi Alliance podcast during CES 2024.