What is WiFi 7 SoC Chipset as per 802.11be:Top Manufacturers

A WiFi 7 SoC chipset is an integrated semiconductor platform supporting the IEEE 802.11be wireless standard. It enables ultra high speed connectivity, multi-link operation, lower latency, and improved spectrum utilization, making it suitable for next-generation routers, gateways, smartphones, gaming systems, and enterprise networks. The growing demand for WiFi 7 solutions has led to innovative developments by leading manufacturers of SoC (System on Chip) chipsets. The popular manufacturers include Broadcom, MediaTek, Qualcomm, Intel, NXP, etc.

What is WiFi 7?

IEEE 802.11be is the 7th generation of WiFi, known as WiFi 7. It’s the successor to IEEE 802.11ax (WiFi 6/6E) standards. Currently, the WiFi 7 standard is under development and is expected to be available by 2024. The IEEE 802.11be task group (TG) is handling the standard finalization process, while the WiFi Alliance will take care of Wi-Fi 7 certification.

802.11be offers EHT (Extremely High Throughput), lower latency, better energy efficiency, efficient spectrum utilization, and more robust WiFi connections compared to its previous standards. It utilizes three frequency bands (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz) more efficiently using multi-link functionality. It’s used in gaming, smart gadgets, AR/VR, HD devices, smart homes, IoT, industrial, medical, and healthcare applications.

Following are the features of WiFi-7 (IEEE 802.11be) wireless LAN technology:

• Compatible and coexist with legacy 802.11 devices
• Supports 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz bands
• 802.11be Release-1 features: Multi-Link operation, Low complexity AP coordination (using coordinated OFDMA/spatial reuse), 320 MHz Bandwidth, 4K QAM, Multiple resource Units per STA
• 802.11be Release-2 features: MIMO enhancements (Up to 16 spatial streams), HARQ, Low latency operations, Advanced AP coordination (Joint transmissions/Coordinated beamforming)
• Supports Hybrid ARQ (HARQ) in 802.11be compared to ARQ in 802.11ax

WiFi 7 Chipset Manufacturers as per IEEE 802.11be

The following table mentions vendors or manufacturers of WiFi 7 chipsets with their features and part numbers.

WiFi 7 Chip Manufacturers	Description
Broadcom Inc.	BCM4398: This SoC is designed for mobile device applications, Supports WiFi 7 (IEEE 802.11be), Bluetooth 5.2, and PCIe Gen3. WiFi 7 chips for Access Points (APs) developed by Broadcom include BCM67263/BCM6726 (4x4 Residential WiFi-7 AP chip) and BCM43720/BCM43740 (Enterprise AP chips). BCM43720 supports 2x2 where as BCM43740 supports 4x4 MIMO configurations. Visit Website broadcom.com for more information.
MediaTek	Part number Filogic 880 is WiFi 7 AP (Access Point). Part number Filogic 380 is designed for smartphones, notebooks, TVs, STBs etc. Refer website Mediatek.com for more information.
Qualcomm	FastConnect 7800 is an advanced 14nm chip which supports WiFi and Bluetooth 5.3 with high speed and low latency. WiFi standards supported by this chip are Wi-Fi 6E, 802.11ac Wave 2, 802.11a/b/g, 802.11n, Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) and Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax). Refer website qualcomm.com for more information.
Intel	The company is developing a Wi-Fi 7 chipset. Refer Wi-Fi-7 for more information.
NXP	The company develops mobile WLAN FETC for 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz for different WiFi standards viz. WiFi 6, WiFi 6E, WiFi 7 etc. Refer nxp.com for more information.

Summary

A WiFi 7 SoC chipset delivers advanced wireless performance using the IEEE 802.11be standard. Leading manufacturers develop WiFi 7 solutions for ultra-fast networking, gaming, cloud applications, and enterprise connectivity.