Chipmakers including Broadcom, Qualcomm and MediaTek have entered the early stages of developments for their respective Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be) chips, according to industry sources.
Meanwhile, other chipmakers, including Qorvo and Skyworks, have also begun enhancing their deployments in front-end modules (FEM) for Wi-Fi 7 chips, said the sources.
Taiwan-based RF component suppliers indicated that MediaTek has geared up to develop Wi-Fi 7 chips aiming to make a preempt presence in the segment.
Since the final version of IEEE 802.11be, the standards for the Wi-Fi 7 devices, is set to release in the first half of 2024, related Wi-Fi-7-based products are likely to hit shelves of the end-market in the second half of 2024, noted the sources.
The upcoming Wi-Fi 7 technology features extremely high throughput (EHT), supporting a bandwidth of 320 MHz, or about twice the speed of Wi-Fi 6, and reaching a speed of 46Gbps, noted the sources.
MediaTek is outsourcing its Wi-Fi 6/6E chips to TSMC, using 28 nm and 22nm process nodes, the sources said, adding Qualcomm fabricates comparable chips at Samsung Electronics using a 14nm process, while Intel is producing its Wi-Fi 6 chips in-house.
Taiwan-based GaAs component suppliers, including Win Semiconductors, Advanced Wireless Semiconductor and Visual Photonics Epitaxy (VPEC), have been keen on developing GaAs parts for FEMs of Wi-Fi 6/6E chips. They will follow in the steps of the leading chipmakers to tap the emerging Wi-Fi 7 chip market, said the sources.
