Nokia launched its Beacon 4 and Beacon 9 Wi-Fi 7 gateways targeting cost-effective, high-speed home connectivity. These entry-level and mid-tier devices deliver multi-gigabit speeds to meet the surging demands of streaming, gaming, and smart home applications. Offering up to three times the performance of Wi-Fi 6, the gateways ensure robust broadband for connected households.
The dual-band Beacon 4 achieves 3.6 Tbps, while the tri-band Beacon 9 reaches 9.4 Tbps, minimizing buffering and slowdowns. Powered by Nokia’s Corteca software, both devices streamline management and enable service providers to offer enhanced services via the Corteca marketplace. Designed to support XGS-PON and 25G PON networks, the gateways make Wi-Fi 7 accessible to a wide audience, aligning with the growing need for reliable home networks.
Nokia’s Wi-Fi 7 portfolio now includes the Beacon 4, 9, 19, and 24 models, addressing diverse operator and user requirements worldwide. The launch underscores Wi-Fi 7’s role in powering future connected homes. “Wi-Fi 7 is a pivotal new technology that will power the connected home of the future. Operators can now make Wi-Fi 7 a reality for customers, with two new affordable solutions that ensure multi-gigabit speeds are delivered to every corner of the home for the ultimate experience,” said Dirk Verhaegen, Head of Broadband Devices, Fixed Networks at Nokia.
- Beacon 4 offers 3.6 Tbps with dual-band Wi-Fi 7.
- Beacon 9 provides 9.4 Tbps using tri-band Wi-Fi 7.
- Corteca software enhances device management and service delivery.
- Gateways support XGS-PON and 25G PON for multi-gigabit speeds.
- Portfolio includes Beacon 4, 9, 19, and 24 models.
- Wi-Fi 7, officially known as IEEE 802.11be, was finalized and standardized in January 2024. It builds on the capabilities of Wi-Fi 6 and 6E, significantly boosting speed, capacity, and efficiency to meet the growing demands of AR/VR, 4K/8K video streaming, and low-latency gaming. Wi-Fi 7 supports peak theoretical speeds of over 40 Gbps by leveraging features such as 320 MHz channel bandwidth in the 6 GHz band, 4K QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation), and Multi-Link Operation (MLO), which allows simultaneous data transmission across multiple bands (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz) to reduce latency and increase reliability. It also introduces Enhanced Channel Sounding for improved multi-user MIMO performance and better spectrum utilization. Wi-Fi 7 devices are expected to be widely adopted in premium smartphones, laptops, routers, and enterprise networking gear.