MWC 2022 | Qualcomm upgrades to Wi-Fi 7 support with its new "world-first" FastConnect 7800 solution

MediaTek has already previewed its Wi-Fi 7 technology; however, Qualcomm now purports to beat its rival to the title of manufacturer of the world's first commercial-grade solution for this next generation of wireless connectivity.

Both FastConnect 7800 and the upcoming FiLogic chipsets can access the latest 320MHz channels, which can connect a compatible router to a Wi-Fi 7-enabled device via 6GHz bands for speeds of up to 5.8 gigabits per second (Gb/s) and to bring latency down below 2 milliseconds.

Qualcomm also asserts that FastConnect 7800 can also achieve these speeds using 5GHz, albeit via the aggregation of 160MHz channel links in concert with a second 5GHz or 6GHz link simultaneously. This is part of the OEM's new High Band Simultaneous technology.

The new solution also has the option of the 240MHz channel, associated with many currently-available 5GHz bands. FastConnect 7800 also supports the next generation of Qualcomm 4-Stream (2x2+2x2) Dual-Band Simultaneous (DBS), which also combines the speed of 5 and/or 6GHz links in a way that might allow a router to connect a mobile device and a headset simultaneously, albeit possibly at Wi-Fi 6 or 6E speeds.

The solution also incorporates Intelligent Dual Bluetooth, which, apart from supplying dual radios for up to double the typical range, is intended to integrate the Snapdragon Sound products as well as Bluetooth 5.3. The new solution has already been sampled to the clients that might bake it into their next-gen devices for Wi-Fi 7, which, as Qualcomm projects, might be here as soon as the second half of 2022.