Your next colleague may not be a real person!

According to Microsoft's 2025 Work Trend Index, 82% of enterprises plan to integrate AI agents into their core teams within the next 12 to 18 months, engaging them as digital employees in business operations.

As AI enters the "colleague era", the demand for campus networks has fundamentally changed: the smooth operation of AI agents demands extreme low latency and high bandwidth from Wi-Fi; differentiated guarantees based on business priorities make AI agents "as stable and reliable as humans"; the sensitivity of data and the autonomy of operations have greatly increased, requiring end-to-end security capabilities...

How can we turn this vision into reality? Huawei Xinghe AI Campus Network's four new technological solutions redefine the campus network experience in the AI era.

Many people have complained about their company's slow Wi-Fi, even though the IT department is striving to optimize the network.

Why is the Wi-Fi speed slow?

The main reasons are twofold: one is the limited network bandwidth, and the other is poor wireless signal coverage, with the latter factor potentially being greater than the former.

The essence of Wi-Fi is the transmission of data via radio waves, involving two concepts: bandwidth and channels. The wider the bandwidth, the faster the theoretical internet speed; however, the authorized spectrum range is fixed, and the wider the bandwidth, the fewer the corresponding number of channels. Once multiple APs operate on the same channel, mutual interference occurs.

Third-party test data shows that under a 40MHz networking scenario, due to the impact of co-channel interference, overall network performance can decrease by 30%. If it's an 80MHz networking scenario, the interference will be even more severe. As a result, when deploying Wi-Fi, enterprises are forced to adopt 20MHz networking to ensure performance, leading to low network connection speeds and even potential video conference lags.

Is co-channel interference unsolvable?

Huawei provides a negative answer, introducing two key technologies in the "high-density networking" scenario: iCSSR and smart antennas.

Among them, iCSSR is a new technology from Wi-Fi 8 pre-research. Through precise μs-level coordination among different APs, it realizes "teamwork" among multiple APs: the AP that prioritizes channel access automatically becomes the primary AP, sending coordination scheduling frames over the air to notify other APs to adjust their parameters and avoid mutual interference.

In addition to algorithm-based coordinated scheduling, Huawei has also created smart antennas with signal following capabilities. Unlike the fixed beams of traditional APs, the signal beams of smart antennas can change with user movement and can switch between multiple beams. Driven by algorithms, smart antennas can dynamically adjust the beam width on a packet-by-packet basis based on user distribution, AP deployment spacing, etc., avoiding interference caused by "scattered" signals.

To summarize: The combination of "iCSSR + smart antennas" allows each AP to "transmit with a plan and direction", achieving true "intelligent density", equating large bandwidth with high performance, and meeting the high-concurrency and large-bandwidth network demands of the AI era.

A direct example is Shenzhen Polytechnic, which, with the enablement of Huawei Xinghe AI Campus Network, has completely bid farewell to network congestion in teaching scenarios. Megabyte courseware can be downloaded in seconds, 4K VR video teaching can support up to 30 concurrent streams without lag, and laboratory data can be efficiently transmitted back.

Doctors and nurses likely encounter this problem: When moving from one ward to another, the programs on their PDAs often lag, with spinning interfaces and long periods of no response, necessitating exiting and re-logging in, as well as re-authentication, severely limiting work efficiency.

The problem may not lie with the PDA but rather with roaming packet loss during the switch between different AP nodes: Before a wireless terminal re-associates with a new AP, it needs to disconnect from the original AP and complete re-authentication on the new AP, potentially leading to packet loss during the switch.

The root cause lies in the network architecture, often with one switch port connecting to 64 APs. This not only leads to frequent network roaming due to frequent AP switching but also causes network congestion due to excessive convergence, further exacerbating the phenomenon of "lag, slowness, and inability to open" when accessing systems.

Huawei's approach is to innovate the network architecture.

Unlike the traditional "1 to 64" architecture, Huawei uses a distributed AP to connect 8 optical radio frequency units and 64 antenna units, paired with an optical-electrical hybrid cable that can meet ultra-long-distance deployment of up to 500 meters. By constructing a "single large AP" through a virtual unified BSSID, it achieves Wi-Fi coverage for 64 rooms: When a terminal connects to Wi-Fi within the region, it remains associated with the same AP, without needing to switch channels or experience roaming, fundamentally solving packet loss and service interruption issues.

Not only does it achieve zero roaming, but the distributed Wi-Fi network architecture also eliminates two other pain points:

First, the isolation and protection of the intranet and extranet. The intranet, extranet, and IoT are deployed in an integrated manner, with physical isolation ensuring medical information security.

Second, the networking and management of IoT devices. By utilizing IoT base stations deployed in weak current rooms, it meets the networking needs of BLE bracelets, infusion detection, etc.

We can see that after Shenzhen Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine introduced Huawei Wi-Fi 7 Zero Roaming, medical staff using PDAs for mobile ward rounds experienced zero dropouts; when accessing patients' PACS images during mobile ward rounds, there was almost zero wait time; and the IoT supported multiple protocols such as Bluetooth, RFID, and ZigBee, reducing TCO costs by 50%.

Traditionally, communication and sensing were considered two separate systems, but Huawei has integrated these two capabilities into one system, namely Wi-Fi Communication and Sensing Integration Technology.

The principle is not difficult to explain.

When Wi-Fi signals propagate through space, they encounter reflections, refractions, and scatterings from human bodies, objects, and other related objects, forming a multipath effect that superimposes onto the receiver. By analyzing subtle fluctuations in channel state information during wireless signal transmission, it is possible to accurately detect the presence of related objects in space.

Huawei's Wi-Fi 7 AP equipped with Communication and Sensing Integration Technology can complete the "self-transmission and self-reception" of Wi-Fi signals on a single AP, achieving functionality similar to "sonar". Without the need to add any additional hardware, it can intelligently sense the activities of related objects in the environment.

Even more imaginative than the technology itself are the application scenarios.

In energy-saving scenarios, with Huawei's Wi-Fi Communication and Sensing Integration Technology, there is no need for cameras to detect the flow of related objects or for rewiring. The AP can be used to connect with the energy-saving system: Upon detecting that personnel have left, it automatically turns off equipment such as air conditioners and lighting; upon detecting that personnel have entered, it automatically turns on lighting and air conditioning within 3 seconds. Almost zero additional cost is required to achieve intelligent green energy savings.

In the field of security, the AP can be linked with cameras for intrusion detection, providing all-weather, zero-dead-angle security protection. Once abnormal intrusion behavior is detected, such as unauthorized entry into sensitive areas, the system will immediately trigger a security alarm.

In medical and wellness scenarios, the First People's Hospital of Hangzhou has implemented real-time capture of patients' vital signs such as respiration and heartbeat in phase I clinical research wards through Wi-Fi + millimeter-wave radar, combined with AI algorithms to achieve functions such as patient posture change reminders, fall reminders, and wandering reminders, pioneering a new paradigm for non-contact vital sign detection in the medical industry.

The sensing objects of Communication and Sensing Integration are not limited to related objects but can also be electromagnetic waves.

At the demo site of the Shenzhen Xiaomeisha Smart Cultural Tourism Complex, an application of Wi-Fi Communication and Sensing Integration for detecting hidden cameras was demonstrated: The AP scans the devices in the room for their spectrum, and once the electromagnetic signal of a device matches the feature library of cameras (such as continuous upload traffic, periodic connections, port communication characteristics, etc.), the system will issue an alarm, helping hotels protect their guests' privacy.

If we compare the campus network to a delivery system, Wi-Fi addresses the "last mile" delivery experience, while the bearer network ensures smooth transmission through the "arteries".

In the AI era, the evolution of the bearer network for campus networks is equally indispensable. In particular, the traditional point-to-multipoint light splitting method can no longer meet the demands of high-speed downloads, multi-person video conferences, scientific research innovation, VR classrooms, etc., necessitating the bearer network's advancement towards intelligence.

To meet the advanced requirements of the bearer network, Huawei Xingmai PEN has conducted targeted innovations in terms of bandwidth, architecture, energy saving, security, and operations and maintenance:

In terms of bandwidth, Huawei Xingmai PEN's central switch boasts an industry-leading 160GE core bandwidth that is twice that of competitors, with a single device capable of expanding to 96 10G ports, providing up to 10GE all-optical access for rooms, and creating a high-speed and smooth network environment for office, teaching, and scientific research.

In terms of architecture, Huawei Xingmai PEN's campus network employs Ethernet protocols, eliminating the need for protocol conversion and secondary learning for operations and maintenance personnel. Meanwhile, the passive and power-free design without the need for weak current rooms achieves a flattened two-layer networking architecture, saving over 20% on network construction costs.

In terms of energy saving, empowered by the Xuanbing heat dissipation technology, the remote module consumes less than 1W per port, and when combined with the tidal prediction algorithm, can reduce network energy consumption by over 30%.

In terms of security, Huawei Xingmai PEN supports multiple authentication algorithms and reliability protection mechanisms, such as anti-counterfeiting and anti-private connection, as well as optical module fault detection and location within seconds.

In terms of operations and maintenance, the plug-and-play, configuration-free design of remote modules reduces management nodes by 80%; coupled with the campus network digital map, it enables one-click automated network configuration and precise optimization for different scenarios, significantly enhancing the operations and maintenance efficiency of the campus network.

The combination of these four new technological solutions reconstructs the experience standards for campus networks:

For example, in terms of security experience, encryption technologies based on protocols such as IPSec can only ensure security at the data layer and link layer. Huawei Xinghe AI Campus Network can achieve zero private connections, zero leaks, zero intrusions, and zero hidden cameras, constructing a three-dimensional and comprehensive security protection system.

In terms of application experience, capabilities such as large bandwidth, low latency, intelligent application recognition, and intelligent scheduling not only ensure zero lag for AI agent-type applications but also provide VIP-level guarantees for key terminals and users, ensuring lower latency and larger bandwidth.

In terms of operations and maintenance experience, the simplified network architecture and AI-driven capabilities enable partners to open a thousand stations in a single day, significantly enhancing delivery capabilities; capabilities such as visual operations and maintenance and intelligent fault location allow a single operations and maintenance personnel to manage a school with tens of thousands of APs.

In the era of AI-driven transformation, the network is no longer a supporting role in infrastructure but a key force advancing the intelligence process alongside computing power and models.

Faced with the trends of data explosion, terminal proliferation, and AI applications increasingly penetrating into the core of business, only by constructing a "simplified, intelligent, and secure" next-generation campus network can we support the access and collaboration of massive devices, ensure the stability and security of key businesses, and carry the infinite possibilities of the AI era.