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Intel And Broadcom Show Off Super-Fast Wi-Fi 7 Technology
The two tech giants demonstrated the speed and stability of the incoming new Wi-Fi standard in a showcase event in Santa Clara, California.
Although overshadowed by the announcement of Queen Elizabeth II’s death, the Intel Corporation and Broadcom yesterday quietly ushered in a huge milestone in tech with a demonstration of the first cross-company Wi-Fi 7 implementation.
The collaboration showcased consistent Wi-Fi speeds of over 5 gigabits per second (5Gbps), using an Intel Core laptop connected to a Broadcom access point.
“We are proud to highlight how next-generation Wi-Fi 7 can make new mobile PC experiences possible. Industry collaboration is essential to ensure we deliver on the promises of this new wireless technology. We would like to thank our colleagues at Broadcom for their great technical cooperation, which helped enable this unprecedented, first-of-its-kind demonstration of ultra-high speed and ultra-low latency Wi-Fi 7,” says Carlos Cordeiro, Intel Fellow and Wireless CTO, Client Computing Group, Intel.
Wi-Fi 7 will be the gold standard for at least 10 years of product releases, offering high speeds, increased stability, and low latency compared to existing solutions. For technology fans wanting more details, Wi-Fi 7 will feature wider 320 MHz channels in the 6GHz spectrum, higher order 4K QAM modulation, and improved channel utilization.
“Today’s milestone sends a clear message: the ecosystem is ready, and Wi-Fi 7 is here to deliver extraordinary capacity and blazing fast speeds to extend gigabit broadband. The reliable, low latency communication provided by Wi-Fi 7 is a key element of Broadcom’s vision for connecting everything as the Internet evolves to its next iteration,” says Vijay Nagarajan, vice president, Wireless Connectivity Division, Broadcom.
Also Read: How To Change Your Wi-Fi Password To Keep Intruders At Bay
For those less concerned about the details and more interested in future applications, the new Wi-Fi standard will almost certainly be put to work in augmented and virtual reality settings, enabling fast and steady streaming of ultra-high-definition 16K video.
As our homes become increasingly connected and more devices rely on wireless signals, gamers and work-from-home employees alike will benefit from massive speed increases, while regular multimedia users will benefit from stable streams and better utilization of high-speed broadband and fiber internet services.
News
Microsoft Plans $10 Billion-Plus Gulf Expansion Despite Iran Conflict
Security is shaping Microsoft’s approach, from resilience work with governments to what it will say about how the money splits by country.
Microsoft is planning more than $10 billion of investment across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait through 2030, Vice Chair and President Brad Smith told Reuters, calling the spending schedule aggressive. The Iranian conflict that began on February 28 has not persuaded the company to scale back.
“We’re sustaining all the investments we planned to make before this conflict started, and we are in fact adding to them,” Smith said. The $10 billion-plus total does not, however, show how large those additions are.
The investment, which Smith described as part of Microsoft’s continued infrastructure expansion, is aimed at cloud and AI infrastructure and at the company’s growing regional operations. Microsoft also intends to put more than $400 million into subsea and terrestrial connectivity across the Middle East by 2030.
The spending fits the region’s own ambitions too. Gulf governments have been investing heavily in AI infrastructure as part of a push to diversify their economies beyond oil and gas and turn themselves into global technology hubs. Major cloud and AI providers have been drawn in part by the land and relatively low-cost energy on offer.
Microsoft is widening its partnerships with regional AI companies, though not on identical terms. In 2024, it invested $1.5 billion in Abu Dhabi-based G42 for a minority stake, and Smith currently sits on G42’s board. Saudi Arabia’s Humain and Qatar’s Qai are working with Microsoft on selected priority areas, but Smith said the company does not plan to make capital investments in either.
Also Read: Egypt’s Mobile Wallets Are Booming, But Cash Still Has Power
The conflict has added another strand to Microsoft’s work in the region. Since it began, Smith said, the company has supported regional partners with digital resilience assessments, and it is now working with Gulf countries through a digital resilience initiative focused on preparedness and the protection of critical data.
So far, the company has given no country-by-country breakdown of the investment, citing security among other factors. So while the headline figure is public, how Microsoft divides the spending among the four countries is not.
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