5G Wi-Fi Chips from Broadcom Promise Up to 1.3Gbps
Jan 5, 2012, 9:39 AM by Eric M. Zeman
Broadcom today announced a range of new Wi-Fi modules based on the IEEE 802.11ac standard, which is being referred to as fifth-generation Wi-Fi. The chips are targeted at consumer-grade devices, such as smartphones, tablets, laptops, set-top boxes, and other gear. According to Broadcom, its new family of chips offers speeds up to three times faster than 802.11n Wi-Fi with up to six times the power efficiency over a broader range. The new chips use a 40nm process and deliver HD video content over longer distances nearly instantaneously. Broadcom says the chips deliver content so quickly, that the Wi-Fi radios on mobile devices can return to low-power mode faster, which results in significant power savings. Broadcom's 802.11ac designs are backward-compatible with Wi-Fi Direct, NFC, and Bluetooth. Broadcom is sampling the chips to hardware makers now, but it didn't say when consumers can expect to see 5G Wi-Fi devices in the market. Handset makers LG, Huawei, and ZTE all indicated that 5G Wi-Fi will eventually be added to their mobile phones.
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