MediaTek targets US mainstream routers with Filogic 860 Wi-Fi 7 chip
MediaTek has announced the Filogic 860, a tri-band Wi-Fi 7 single-chip solution designed for home and enterprise routers. The SoC supports 7.2 Gbps throughput and integrated low-latency processing specifically to support high-bandwidth applications like 4K streaming and cloud gaming in dense environments.
Key Takeaways
- Filogic 860 supports tri-band operation across 2.4, 5, and 6 GHz frequencies with 320 MHz channel bandwidth.
- Integrated quad-core Arm CPU and packet engine offload QoS and security tasks to reduce hardware bill of materials.
- The chip supports Multi-Link Operation (MLO) for simultaneous band usage to improve throughput in dense environments.
- Target hardware includes sub-$300 multi-node mesh kits from OEMs like TP-Link and ASUS.
Why It Matters
MediaTek is positioning the Filogic 860 to capture the high-volume 'mainstream' segment of the nascent Wi-Fi 7 market. By integrating a dedicated network processor and focusing on thermal stability in compact enclosures, the company is directly competing with Qualcomm and Broadcom for placement in ISP-issued gateways and affordable retail mesh systems. This is critical for the streaming industry as Wi-Fi 7's deterministic latency and multi-gigabit speeds become the baseline for stable 4K/8K delivery and cloud-based interactive media. Watch for MediaTek's design wins in 2025 ISP hardware refreshes to see if it can displace incumbents in the customer-premises equipment space.
Additional Context
MediaTek is aggressively expanding its networking footprint to challenge the dominance of Broadcom and Qualcomm. Per Counterpoint Research in November 2024, Broadcom led the combined Wi-Fi 6/7 market with a 24% share, followed by Qualcomm at 19% and MediaTek at 13%. MediaTek’s broader strategy involves moving its Wi-Fi 7 Filogic silicon beyond high-end routers into more cost-sensitive tiers, aiming for Wi-Fi 6 and 7 chipsets to account for 88% of its total connectivity revenue by 2025.
The broader market for Wi-Fi 7 remains in an early adoption phase. According to a June 2025 report from Ookla, Wi-Fi 7 adoption in the United States stood at just 2%, despite being available on the market for over a year. However, high-speed fiber providers such as Frontier and Google Fiber are beginning to bundle Wi-Fi 7 equipment with multi-gigabit plans to differentiate their service tiers. Omdia has forecasted that consumer Wi-Fi 7 hardware will grow from 3.6% of the global installed base in 2025 to nearly 14% by 2030.
Financial performance reflects this push into 'Smart Edge' platforms. In its Q2 2024 earnings report, MediaTek recorded a 29.7% year-over-year revenue increase to NT$127.3 billion, with CEO Rick Tsai attributing the growth to rising adoption of Wi-Fi 7 and 5G. While the high-end Filogic 880 handles flagship devices, the Filogic 860 is designed for the high-volume retail and operator segments, which are less susceptible to the volatility of the smartphone market. Recent reporting from Digitimes in April 2026 suggests MediaTek is securing fresh telecom operator business across both North America and Europe to build an end-to-end connectivity ecosystem.
Read full article at ad-hoc-news.de
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