GFiber and Qualcomm Announce Wi-Fi 8 Premium Gateway for 20 Gig Customers

Wi-Fi 8 Gateway for Fiber Customers

GFiber, Qualcomm, and Gemtek announced this week the gFiber Wi-Fi 8 Premium Gateway, which is designed for subscribers of GFiber's 25G-PON-based 20 Gig service. The gateway leverages the Qualcomm Dragonwing NPro A8 Elite Platform and will be manufactured by Gemtek. The Wi-Fi 8 (802.11bn) specification has not yet been ratified by the IEEE, but manufacturers are moving ahead with hardware regardless. Late last month, TP-Link announced preorders for its first Wi-Fi 8 consumer router, and GFiber is now positioning its own branded offering.

Qualcomm Dragonwing Platform with Edge AI

The Dragonwing NPro A8 Elite Platform combines a penta-core CPU and an NPU to deliver performance for connected devices. Gautam Sheoran, SVP and GM for Connectivity, Broadband, and Networking at Qualcomm, stated that the platform brings together premium Wi-Fi 8 connectivity, high-performance networking, and native edge AI in a single architecture. He also noted that an open agentic AI framework provides a flexible foundation to deploy, customize, and scale agentic AI directly on the gateway.

Availability and Rollout

Customers currently subscribed to GFiber's 20 Gig service, which is priced at $250 per month and available in select U.S. markets, will be the first to receive the new gateway. These customers currently use an Actiontec Wi-Fi 7 gateway and will be upgraded to the Wi-Fi 8 Premium Gateway once the certification process is completed. Rollouts are expected to begin in 2027.

Design and Future 50 Gig Support

The Wi-Fi 8 Premium Gateway features a new aesthetic design that GFiber says will encourage customers to place it in a visible location in the home, where signal propagation is best, rather than hidden in a closet or far-off corner. Looking ahead, GFiber notes that its 50 Gig service, based on 50G-PON technology, will begin residential trials during the spring of next year and will be fully supported by the Wi-Fi 8 Premium Gateway.

Sources: Tom's Hardware