Wi-Fi Alliance and prpl Team Up to Speed up Next-Gen Deployment

The Wi-Fi Alliance and prpl Foundation have joined forces to speed up the implementation, validation, and deployment of new Wi-Fi generations in broadband Customer Premises Equipment (CPE). This partnership is significant because while Wi-Fi standards may be interoperable at the radio level, gateways still require substantial software integration, validation, and operator-specific engineering.

The collaboration aims to shorten deployment cycles for Wi-Fi 7 and eventually Wi-Fi 8 by bridging the gap between certification and open-source CPE software stacks like prpl. However, it is unclear what specific activities will take place as part of this new cooperation.

Cisco has reported that more than half of its current bookings are for Wi-Fi 7 equipment, indicating a strong market demand for the technology. This is a significant milestone, as Wi-Fi 7 has moved from early adoption to becoming a central part of Cisco's enterprise wireless business.

VIAVI has introduced the Vertex 6.0, a channel emulator designed specifically for testing next-generation 6G and Wi-Fi 7/8 networks. The platform offers 400 MHz instantaneous bandwidth and frequencies up to 23.6 GHz, supporting 320 MHz channels, 4096-QAM, and configurations from 2×2 to 8×8.

Google's new Pixel Tag, launched last week, uses both Ultra-Wideband (UWB) and Bluetooth Channel Sounding for precision finding. The combination provides visual distance and directional guidance, with the benefit of determining the location of devices that do not support UWB using Bluetooth.

Sercomm has reported a remarkable 69% revenue growth in Q2, driven by strong demand for fibre access, cable broadband, 5G FWA, and Wi-Fi 7. Management expects second-half 2026 operations to be stronger than the first half, with Wi-Fi 7 accounting for up to 70% of new shipments.