GEC NEWS WIRECommScope, a global leader in home networks, announced entry into the Wi-Fi 7 retail market with the launch of the SURFboard G54 DOCSIS 3.1 quad-band Wi-Fi 7 cable modem.
The flagship SURFboard G54 provides significant performance enhancements, including the latest Wi-Fi 7 technology, and supports multi-gigabit Internet plans. The SURFboard G54 is designed to include other advanced features, including DOCSIS 3.1, quad-band Wi-Fi 7 (BE17880, or the total speed the system can support), a 10 Gbps Ethernet port, and four 1 Gbps LAN ports.
As the journey to the multi-gigabit network of the future continues, consumers can be ready to support next generation, higher speed internet plans with the SURFboard G54. Coupling the latest DOCSIS 3.1 technology with new Wi-Fi 7 capabilities, the SURFboard G54 provides multi-gigabit speeds (dependent upon service provider plan) throughout the home. In addition, a 10 Gbps Ethernet port ensures the home network can support additional Gigabit services directly to the Ethernet connection.
“We’re thrilled to debut the first ARRIS SURFboard Wi-Fi 7 product at CES,” stated Jonathan Wu, vice president of product and customer support, CommScope Home Networks. “The flagship SURFboard G54 takes innovation to the next level with DOCSIS 3.1 and quad-band Wi-Fi 7. It provides a superior home networking experience for our customers – no matter what next generation plans are to come in the years ahead.”
As new smart devices are released and added to the home, the SURFboard G54 ensures that older devices with previous Wi-Fi technology (Wi-Fi 5 and earlier) do not degrade the performance of the home network. The SURFboard G54 leverages the latest Wi-Fi 7 offerings with the following capabilities:
- The recently available 6GHz band provides a large amount of uncongested spectrum, unused by previous Wi-Fi technology (Wi-Fi 5 and prior generations)
- Multi-Link Operation (MLO) combines different bands together for even faster speed, allowing supported Wi-Fi 7 clients to take advantage of simultaneous multiple band connections
- 320MHz channels and the large capacity gains from 6GHz spectrum deliver extremely high throughputs – delivering peak speeds up to 11.5Gbps in 6GHz, which is 2.4 times faster than Wi-Fi 6 devices
- Spectrum puncturing technology helps avoid channel interference to achieve faster Wi-Fi, even in noisy, crowded environments
The SURFboard G54 features intelligent quad-band steering to ensure all devices have the optimal connection to the network depending on usage and balances the system as needed, especially when varied Wi-Fi generation devices are present. Smart channel management technology avoids channel interference and improves bandwidth to ensure the home network is not impacted by neighboring networks. Alternatively, users may choose to manually set devices to each band to personally manage the connections. The SURFboard G54 quad-band technology features:
- 4 GHz band for IoT and low-bandwidth devices
- 5 GHz low band for Wi-Fi 5 devices
- 5 GHz high band for Wi-Fi 6/7 devices
- 6 GHz band for Wi-Fi 6E/7 devices
This quad-band technology ensures older devices on Wi-Fi 5 will continue to receive the appropriate bandwidth, and newer devices will leverage the latest Wi-Fi technology (Wi-Fi 6/6E/7) and utilize the appropriate band (5/6GHz) to maximize performance and speed, while reducing latency and jitter. Applications such as 4K streaming, gaming, video conferencing, livestreaming, and AR/VR/MR will perform better and be more reliable.
The SURFboard G54 DOCSIS 3.1 quad-band Wi-Fi 7 cable modem will be available by mid-2023. Additional Wi-Fi 7 products will become available soon thereafter.
Wi-Fi 7 for Service Providers
CommScope Home Networks is developing Wi-Fi 7 solutions for service providers and will be demonstrating them at the CES®. Highlights will include the potential of Wi-Fi 7 for higher levels of deterministic, service-aware, low-latency Wi-Fi, with a range of solutions based on technology provided by multiple silicon partners.
