HFCL launches Open source Wi-Fi 7 Access Points and 5G 8T8R Macro Radio Unit at IMC 2022

HFCL Limited, the leading high-tech enterprise and integrated next-gen communication product and solution provider in collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. launches world’s first Open source Wi-Fi 7 Access Points under its IO product line at India Mobile Congress, Pragati Maidan, New Delhi on 01 October 2022.

HFCL becomes the first OEM to launch Open source Wi-Fi 7 Access Points, based on the IEEE 802.11be – a revolutionary Wi-Fi technology that is designed to deliver Extremely High Throughput (EHT), higher spectral efficiency, better interference mitigation, and Real Time Applications (RTA) support. Wi-Fi 7 uses faster connections with 320MHz and 4kQAM, multiple connections with Multi Link operation and Adaptive Connections for adaptive interference puncturing to deliver all enhanced user’s experience while offering better power efficiency. Compared to all improvements in previous Wi-Fi standards, Wi-Fi 7 promises a huge technological leap, offering an immersive experience to its users, ushering the world towards a digitally stronger path. HFCL’s Wi-Fi 7 APs will support peak data rates of over 10 Gbps and will offer latency under 2 ms compared to 5 Gbps and 10 ms of current Wi-fi 6 products.

Backed by strong R&D focus, HFCL’s Wi-Fi 7 product line will enable tech providers such as telecom operators, Internet service providers, system integrators, and network administrators to offer mission critical and real time application services and deliver better user experience than ever before. The new Wi-Fi 7 product portfolio has a wide range of dual band and tri-band indoor and outdoor variants.

All the Wi-Fi 7 variants will be shipped with open source software making these the first Wi-Fi 7 Access points in the industry to support Open standards. Open standards promote disaggregated Wi-Fi system offered as free open-source software with an aim to offer advanced global connectivity ensuring interoperability in multi-vendor scenario.

Speaking about the launch of this revolutionary product line, Mr. Mahendra Nahata, MD, HFCL said, “We are immensely proud to be the first Indian company to launch Wi-Fi 7 product line in market and the first in the world to offer an Open source Wi-Fi 7 portfolio. Our Wi-Fi 7 portfolio is based on the latest Wi-Fi 7 Qualcomm® Networking Pro Series Platforms and offers better features than any commercial products available in market today. We are really thankful to the Qualcomm Technologies teams for working closely with us and supporting us to make this possible. Ahead of the 5G revolution in India and globally, our Wi-Fi 7 launch is a revolutionary move helping us deliver an immersive experience to our customers globally and putting India in the forefront of global technology leadership.”

Mr. Nahata further added, “Launch of this product line will have several industrial applications especially like the Internet of Things (IoT) and IIoT applications, supporting advancements in
Cloud/Edge Computing, Cloud gaming, and other xR-based applications. The very low latency and extremely high bandwidth have many use cases in the medical field as well, especially bringing healthcare facilities to remote locations. It is set to bring us a step closer to the Metaverse and will mitigate network congestion by delivering better connectivity experiences in high density areas and areas with numerous overlapping networks. Our investment in R&D and focus on continuous innovation has enabled us to roll out this futuristic product for users, across the globe. This also aligns with our strategy to roll out new products, reach new customers, and tap new geographies in the coming years.”

The launch of Wi-Fi 7 will primarily complement the new 5G rollout in the country especially for complementing indoor coverage. Further, the technology with its higher throughput, reliable network performance, and lower latency will facilitate the development of various applications. For enterprises, Wi-Fi 7 technology will benefit the Internet of Things (IoT) and IIoT applications such as surveillance, remote control industrial automation, AV/VR/XR, and other video-based applications. It will also increase the number of remote offices, real-time collaborations, and online video conferencing, with many advancements in Cloud/Edge Computing, and Cloud gaming.

Commenting on this, Mr. Rajen Vagadia, Vice President, Qualcomm India Private Limited and President of Qualcomm India & SAARC said “Wi-Fi 7 brings a multitude of features that can be used to offer extreme speeds, high capacity, and low latency in support of next-generation applications and services. Managing and optimizing the various available spectrum bands is perhaps the signature differentiator for Wi-Fi 7. Together, with 5G, it will help us build a truly digital India, with inclusive and equitable socioeconomic development of both the urban and the rural parts of the country. In the years ahead, both these technologies will be at the heart of a very wide range of use cases, driving innovation and growth across all industries, sectors, and spheres of human activity. We are proud and privileged to work with HFCL on yet another Made-in-India range of products.”

HFCL Limited (HFCL), a leading telecom equipment manufacturer and technology provider today announced the launch of 5G 8T8R Macro Radio Unit (RU), the first product from its 5G product family. HFCL’s 5G 8T8R Macro RU is a next generation RU that has a compact form factor, improved energy efficiency, supports digital beamforming and zero touch provisioning.

5G will accelerate the adoption of virtualization and cloud native technologies. However, most of the current implementations of virtual RAN (vRAN) are based on proprietary technologies. HFCL’s 5G 8T8R Macro RU combines the power of vRAN and O-RAN based open standards. Unlike traditional RAN where all components of RAN must come from the same vendor, HFCL’s 5G 8T8R Macro RU can integrate with any vendor’s virtual baseband unit (vBBU) that is compliant with O-RAN fronthaul specification.

HFCL’s 5G 8T8R Macro RU is 3GPP Release 15 and 16 compliant. It supports n78 frequency band (3.3 – 3.67 GHz) with 8T8R MIMO (Multiple-Input Multiple-Output) configuration. It is lightweight and compact in form factor and supports natural convection air cooling. It will aid operators in providing better 5G coverage and address capacity requirements in urban, suburban and rural areas. It is modular in design and can be easily customized to support any Sub-6 GHz frequency band to address the global markets. It supports multiple mounting options and can be easily deployed on poles, rooftops, and walls. Security by design is built into the 5G 8T8R Macro RU and it supports secured boot, digitally signed applications, and is hardened against distributed denial-of-service attacks.

Commenting on this product launch, Mr. Mahendra Nahata, MD, HFCL said, “HFCL is proud to bring the world class 5G 8T8R Macro RU product that has been designed and developed completely by our indigenous R&D team to address India and global markets. It also supports needs of rural mobile broadband in the country. Reliable and ubiquitous 5G networks has a critical role to play in making India a digital economy.”

With a distinct set of features designed for improved energy efficiency, HFCL’s 8T8R Macro RU also supports digital beamforming with excellent steering capability for improved customer experience. It supports improved radio resource management and provides seamless interoperability with any industry leading AI/ML powered RAN Intelligent Controllers (RIC). In addition, HFCL’s 5G 8T8R Macro RU supports zero touch provisioning & closed-loop automation and enables faster time-to-market for launch of new 5G services.
CT Bureau