Wi-Fi sensing has left the lab and become a product. This site follows that transition from the point of view of those who run access networks.
In August 2026, Comcast began switching on Wi-Fi motion detection across tens of millions of gateways in the United States. It installed no new sensors: a software update on equipment already in customers' homes was enough.
A year earlier, in September 2025, the IEEE published 802.11bf, the amendment that brings sensing into the Wi-Fi standard. Together, these two facts mark a turning point. Wi-Fi sensing is no longer a topic for academic papers; it is a product decision.
Why this matters to Brazilian ISPs
The device sensing runs on is the ONT or router the ISP installs, manages and updates. In Brazil, most of those devices belong to regional ISPs. If the service comes, it will come through whoever is already inside the customer's home, or whoever gets there first.
Meanwhile, the available information is scarce in Portuguese and Spanish, fragmented and often written by those selling the solution. Direct answers to practical questions are missing: can my installed base do this? What already works and what is still a promise? How does data protection law apply?
What you will find here
- Fundamentals, to understand what is measured and why it works.
- Applications, each with its real maturity stage.
- A path for ISPs, from inventorying the installed base to running a pilot.
- Regular updates, with lab notes, readings of the standards and market tracking.
The lab
Testing takes place at Estância Terracota, in Bebedouro, São Paulo, an event venue that doubles as a real-world sensing environment. The setup combines OpenWrt routers, ESP32 nodes dedicated to CSI capture at 2.4 and 5 GHz, and a passive capture pipeline. The first results will be published here, including the ones that do not turn out as expected.
Next steps
On November 5 I will present the subject at the Technical Plenary of Abrint Nordeste 2026. The talk material and the questions it raises will feed the next updates.
If you run a network and want to follow along or take part, write to us.