Nokia has announced the launch of Beacon 10, its first gateway supporting Wi-Fi 6E, which is designed to provide seamless, high-capacity mesh networking. The company has demonstrated the new product at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain.
The Beacon 10 is a true tri-band device that can offer Wi-Fi throughput of up to 10Gbps. It also comes with a 10G WAN interface that can be paired with fiber modems for multi-gigabit services to homes. The Wi-Fi 6E offers faster speeds and lower latencies that are ideal for the latest office applications, home entertainment, and home working experiences.
According to Nokia, widespread rollout of 10G fiber powered by XGS-PON requires upgrades to home and business Wi-Fi to deliver super high speeds to enabled devices. The Beacon 10 aims to address this issue by providing seamless, high-capacity mesh networking.
In addition to the Beacon 10, Nokia has also upgraded its Nokia WiFi Cloud Controller to act as a User Services Platform (USP) controller. The USP is the industry standard protocol (also known as TR-369) that manages services and configurations in network devices, either remotely by a cloud application or locally by a mobile app.
Nokia’s USP agent in the Beacon 10 is based on the open-source OB-USPA so that it can be managed by any USP controller, including the Nokia WiFi Cloud Controller. Nokia’s all-in-one console for Wi-Fi management and optimization will be available to customer care operators, network administrators, onsite technicians, and level 3 support staff to provide advanced WiFi optimization, troubleshooting, and management.
Nokia has also established a complete ecosystem of app developers to ensure that customer service providers can offer the value-added services they need to their customers on their Wi-Fi units. The Beacon 10 supports the latest, fully integrated cybersecurity application from F-Secure, which is delivered as a containerized application.
Dirk Verhaegen, VP Broadband Devices, Nokia, said, “We are proud to introduce Nokia’s first Wi-Fi 6E product for premium, high-performance Wi-Fi in the home and office. Not only does it offer faster speeds, but it also supports third-party applications and a USP agent to be fully compatible with multiple controllers, making it much easier for operators to manage. Third-party apps and USP are both of strategic interest to Nokia, and we will include them in all new broadband devices we introduce, as well as retro-fitting to select existing equipment.”
Michael Philpott, Research Director, Digital Consumer Services at Omdia, said, “Vendors like Nokia are paving the path for the next generation of in-home broadband devices with a container application framework that separates the application from the operating system. F-Secure is the first partner to fully leverage Nokia’s application ecosystem to bring its cybersecurity solution to Nokia broadband devices using this innovative and open environment.”
Nokia’s launch of the Beacon 10 comes at a time when the demand for high-speed Wi-Fi has never been greater. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in an increase in remote working and home schooling, leading to a surge in the demand for reliable and high-speed internet connections.
According to a report by ResearchAndMarkets.com, the global Wi-Fi market was valued at $5.96 billion in 2020 and is expected to grow to $9.22 billion by 2026. The increasing demand for high-speed and reliable internet connectivity is one of the major factors driving the growth of the Wi-Fi market.
