Huawei's new campus network solution harnesses AI and Wi-Fi 7 tech

Huawei has taken the lead in unveiling an AI-powered Wi-Fi 7 campus networking system designed to help organizations handle the growing demands of video conferencing and AI workloads on their networks.

Launched in Dubai last month, Huawei's fully-upgraded "Xinghe Intelligent Campus" solution is built on the company's latest network automation platform, campus switches, WLAN access points and access routers.

It delivers potential wireless speeds of 13.2 gigabits per second, with the rate of each single terminal reaching 4.5 gigabits per second, according to real-world use cases. But this solution isn't just about speed.

"At today's enterprises, terminals per user and video conferences increase sharply, and digital-intelligent work styles pose never-seen-before requirements on campus network performance, security, experience, and operations and maintenance," said Shawn Zhao, president of Huawei's Campus Network Domain.

Huawei's Xinghe Intelligent Campus solution upgrades user experience to new levels by tackling three main pain points: wireless coverage gaps, poor application performance — particularly video calls — and network management complexity.

To address wireless coverage gaps, the solution employs advanced X-Wireless technology to deliver robust connectivity, ensuring all users can always access the network concurrently and smoothly. For network performance, a game-changing new Wi-Fi security shield blocks unauthorized wireless access, while the exclusive X-Scheduler prevents network congestion during peak hours, such as when multiple departments run simultaneous video conferences.

The solution enables network managers to interact with Huawei's iMaster NCE Network Digital Map using natural language, identifying and fixing problems instantly - similar to conversing with an AI assistant. This intuitive approach replaces traditional menu navigation, allowing a single administrator to easily manage thousands of users while smart algorithms reduce energy costs by 30%.

The Xinghe Intelligent Campus is scalable across multiple locations, allowing organizations — such as universities with several campuses — to integrate them into one cohesive network using intelligent SD-WAN technology. This ensures seamless communication and management, enhancing overall operational efficiency.

The solution comes as organizations face mounting network pressure, given that AI consumes more bandwidth than ever before. Traditional campus networks weren't built to handle the massive data demands of machine learning and real-time analysis, creating bottlenecks across universities, businesses and institutions.

This shift toward AI-powered networking aligns with industry trends, with IDC predicting the world's top 2,000 companies will direct more than 40% of their core IT spending to AI projects by 2025. Dell'Oro Group forecasts Wi-Fi 7 technology will dominate the market, representing nearly 75% of all access point revenue by 2028.

Huawei, which has emerged as a leading contributor to Wi-Fi 7 standards development, has already deployed its technology across various sectors.

At Peking University, Huawei showed how its solution can successfully support thousands of simultaneous connections during an opening ceremony event. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia's Technical and Vocational Training Corporation — the kingdom's largest technical education provider with over 280 training facilities nationwide — has implemented the technology to support online learning platforms and digital classrooms.

In the manufacturing sector, FAW Group, one of China's major automotive manufacturers, has integrated the solution into its smart factory networks, enabling comprehensive data collection and analysis across production facilities.

Since the global debut of its first enterprise-class Wi-Fi 7 access point, the AirEngine 8771-X1T, in 2022, Huawei now offers an extensive range of Wi-Fi 7 access points for all scenarios, including indoor, outdoor and IoT deployments. These APs stand out for their industry-leading features. For example, they support 4K video teaching for 30 simultaneous users, 20% above the industry average. The devices also deliver high-bandwidth coverage at 5 meters (with speeds above 2 gigabits per second), compared to the standard 1-meter range. With Multi-Link Operation (MLO) multi-fed and selective receiving, Huawei's APs achieve 99.999% reliability and zero data loss through auto-collection.

Steve Namaseevayum, vice president of the Wireless Broadband Alliance, highlighted Wi-Fi 7's benefits during the event, noting its ability to provide "faster connectivity with improved capacity to deliver lower latency in dense environments."