The Wi-Fi 8 (802.11bn) specification hasn't been finalized by the IEEE, but that isn't slowing hardware makers. After TP-Link took preorders for its first Wi-Fi 8 consumer router, GFiber, Qualcomm, and Gemtek announced a Wi-Fi 8 Premium Gateway for GFiber's 20 Gig fiber customers. The device is built on Qualcomm's Dragonwing NPro A8 Elite Platform, which pairs a penta-core CPU with an NPU to support both high-performance networking and on-device AI.
Qualcomm's Gautam Sheoran described the platform as bringing together premium Wi-Fi 8 connectivity, high-performance networking, and native edge AI in a single architecture, with an open agentic AI framework for deploying and scaling AI directly on the gateway. Gemtek will handle manufacturing. GFiber says customers on its 25G-PON-based 20 Gig service, currently using an Actiontec Wi-Fi 7 gateway, will be upgraded once certification completes; the article notes the $250-per-month service is limited to select U.S. markets and hopes the upgrade is free when rollouts begin in 2027.
The gateway is also positioned to support GFiber's 50 Gig service, which begins residential trials next spring based on 50G-PON technology. While no images were released, the companies said the gateway has a "new aesthetic design" meant to encourage customers to place it centrally in the home for better signal propagation, rather than hiding it away. With only one source available, no independent confirmation of these details, such as certification timing or pricing, was provided.