Microsoft's Windows 11 supported by Qualcomm FastConnect systems

Qualcomm Technologies, together with key ecosystem partners, is set to redefine wireless expectations for latency-sensitive gaming, productivity, and learning applications on Window’s 11 PCs with Qualcomm FastConnect systems.

Wi-Fi Dual Station designed using Qualcomm 4-Stream Dual-band Simultaneous, harnesses multiple Wi-Fi bands and antennas concurrently, to outperform traditional single band connections. By simultaneously using the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz band (or 6 GHz where available), latency issues in one band can be easily resolved at a system-level both quickly and transparently to the end-user.

Valve has added initial support for Wi-Fi Dual Station to the Steamworks SDK to deliver low latency and jitter-free online play for the millions playing games that use the Steamworks SDK for networking. This includes Valve’s popular online titles Dota 2 and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO), which will now benefit from the improved and sustained responsiveness when played on a Windows 11 gaming device with supporting FastConnect connectivity systems.

Even occasional high latency (jitter) events significantly deteriorate online game play which has historically caused PC gamers to stay tethered to Ethernet. Wi-Fi Dual Station with Qualcomm 4-stream Dual-band Simultaneous addresses the need for sustained low latency over extended periods of time, unleashing gaming experiences with wire-class responsiveness.

“We’re seeing considerable reductions in jitter and packet loss with Wi-Fi Dual Station enabled, especially when the AP is heavily loaded,” said Fletcher Dunn at Valve. “This is important for any online title, and especially beneficial for competitive online titles such as CS:GO and Dota 2. Games using the Steamworks SDK for networking will experience these same benefits with no added development time.”

In testing conducted by Qualcomm with off-the-shelf retail Wi-Fi 6 Access Points, Wi-Fi Dual Station with Qualcomm 4-stream Dual-band Simultaneous consistently delivered sustained jitter free wireless gameplay similar to Ethernet latency under the same conditions.

Further, in head-to-head wireless comparisons with Single Station Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Dual Station yielded 4x lower latency and sustained jitter-free gameplay, underscoring the immediate value to online gamers.

“Microsoft is pleased to bring ‘Wi-Fi Dual Station’ to the Windows 11 ecosystem, enabling our Windows OEMs and ecosystem leaders to deliver low-latency performance on the latest Wi-Fi hardware,” said Ian LeGrow, VP, program management for windows platforms and services, Microsoft. “Games and other latency-sensitive applications can now leverage two concurrent Wi-Fi connections providing best-in-class user experiences.”

“More so now than ever before, high-performance and low-latency wireless connectivity is the critical factor in delivering compelling, engaging, and immersive experiences,” added Dino Bekis, VP and GM, mobile and compute connectivity, Qualcomm. “This unique collaboration with Microsoft was essential in realizing the promise of Windows 11 with Qualcomm Technologies’ latest Wi-Fi 6E 4-stream Dual-band Simultaneous devices. Through focused collaboration, we address today’s unprecedented wireless challenges and dramatically extend these premium capabilities to the entire ecosystem.”

Beyond gaming, these technology advancements and capabilities provide material improvements for the ever-increasing demands of the enterprise PC industry. The combination of Wi-Fi 6 feature implementation (such as Wi-Fi Dual Station) and the extension of those capabilities to new 6 GHz spectrum (Wi-Fi 6E), are at the heart of addressing the exponentially growing demand for intense two-way data traffic (video calls, collaboration tools, remote management) and ensuring sustained productivity whether in a centralized office or decentralized remote work environment.

“We are excited to work with Qualcomm Technologies to deliver best-in-class connectivity solutions on AMD enterprise platforms,” said Jason Banta, corporate VP and GM, Client OEM, AMD. “Leadership connectivity performance is critical, and together, FastConnect, Microsoft Windows and AMD raise the bar for speed, capacity and latency performance to bring exceptional hybrid-work experiences to a demanding workforce.”