Broadcom Announces World’s First Wi-Fi 6E Chip for Mobile Devices
February 13 2020 - 5:00AM
Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ: AVGO) today announced the world’s first
Wi-Fi 6E client device, the BCM4389. Wi-Fi 6E extends the Wi-Fi 6
standard to support the soon-to-be-operational 6 GHz band with
wider 160 MHz channel bandwidths that double Wi-Fi speeds and cut
latency in half compared to Wi-Fi 5. The BCM4389 delivers over 2
Gbps of real-world speeds and up to five times better battery
utilization, making it an ideal solution for flagship smartphones
and future AR/VR devices.
Wi-Fi 6E builds on the rich feature set of Wi-Fi 6, which
includes improved performance in crowded environments, advanced
roaming capabilities and increased security. This enhancement of
Wi-Fi 6 uses new spectrum in the 6 GHz band to deliver
multi-gigabit speeds while avoiding congestion with legacy devices.
The BCM4389 expands on the accelerated deployment of Wi-Fi 6,
delivering a steady, swift and secure consumer experience in tandem
with over 150 million smartphones already in the market. With the
additional innovations of Wi-Fi 6E, it unlocks high-speed
bi-directional video applications and augmented reality. For more
on Wi-Fi 6E and 6 GHz Wi-Fi, read our blog here.
The BCM4389 also brings advanced multi-radio technology to
Bluetooth. Inspired by sophisticated Wi-Fi communication techniques
such as multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) and beamforming, the
BCM4389 improves audio performance and range for any connected
Bluetooth accessory. Phones equipped with the BCM4389 will provide
a seamless, “glitch-free” audio experience with popular Bluetooth
headsets even in congested places such as subway
stations.
In yet another first, the BCM4389 utilizes Broadcom’s new
tri-band simultaneous (TBS) connectivity architecture to mobile
devices. In addition to two main Wi-Fi radios and a MIMO Bluetooth
radio, the BCM4389 incorporates a third ultra-low-power independent
radio for optimizing Wi-Fi and Bluetooth performance. The
three-radio architecture:
- Enables always-on Bluetooth discovery for faster pairing with
accessories and interference mitigation. Phones and headsets can
now pair faster.
- Quickly scans for interference-free Wi-Fi networks to connect
to while main Wi-Fi radios provide data, voice and video services.
Phones seamlessly switch to networks with better Quality-of-Service
(QoS).
- Improves indoor location accuracy with always-on scanning and
little impact on battery life.
- Enables the BCM4389 to deliver up to five times better battery
utilization than current flagship connectivity
solutions.
The BCM4389 will benefit from a full ecosystem of Wi-Fi 6E
products, including home routers, residential gateways, enterprise
access points, and AR/VR devices. The new 6 GHz spectrum band is
expected to be operational in the United States in 2020, and a wide
range of 6 GHz enabled devices will be available at launch.
“At Broadcom, we pride ourselves in delivering technology that
defines the market. The BCM4389, the world’s first Wi-Fi 6E mobile
chip, is no exception since it paves the way for our wirelessly
connected AR/VR future,” said Vijay Nagarajan, vice president of
marketing for the Wireless Communications and Connectivity Division
at Broadcom. “The BCM4389 delivers on the core advantages of the 6
GHz band, multi-gigabit wireless speeds and very low latency. It
also represents a paradigm shift in wireless design thinking with
technology that brings glitch-free audio experience with Bluetooth
headsets, fast pairing with wireless accessories, accurate indoor
location, high battery efficiency and other everyday consumer
experiences.”
“Wi-Fi 6E momentum is moving very quickly with regulatory
changes expected and chipsets becoming available,” said Phil Solis,
research director at IDC. “There are many video-related use cases
that require shorter ranges that fit perfectly with the many large
160 MHz-wide channels that the 6 GHz spectrum band is capable of
supporting.”
PRODUCT HIGHLIGHTS
The BCM4389 is a smartphone combo chip. Key features
include:
- Support for 2 streams of Wi-Fi 6E
- Multi-Radio Bluetooth 5 with antenna beamforming
- Tri-Band Simultaneous (TBS) architecture including a dedicated
background scan radio
- Simultaneous dual-band operation
- 2.63 Gbps PHY rate
- Operation in 2.4 GHz and 5.1-7.125 GHz unlicensed band
- 160 MHz channel bandwidth
- 1024-QAM modulation
- OFDMA
- MU-MIMO
QUOTES
“Wi-Fi 6E will leverage up to 1200 MHz of new unlicensed
spectrum that can provide seven uncongested, non-overlapping 160
MHz-wide channels or fifty 20 MHz-wide channels. The availability
of such a large amount of contiguous greenfield spectrum makes it
possible to deliver next-gen mobile applications that require high
throughput, link reliability, and low latency in
unlicensed bands. Extreme Networks is excited to work closely with
Broadcom, and plans to be among the first vendors to deliver
end-to-end, cloud-driven Wi-Fi 6E networking solutions for the
enterprise.” -- Eric Broockman, CTO, Extreme Networks.
“With the availability of up to 1.2GHz
contiguous unlicensed spectrum in the 6GHz band, the
enhanced benefits of Wi-Fi 6 will
be fully realized. The addition of up to fifty 20MHz
channels in the 6GHz band, which is uncongested and unencumbered by
legacy technologies, will result in faster downloads and
lower latency for mobile applications. This is essential as Wi-Fi
continues to be the primary mechanism for accessing the internet at
home, work, and in enterprises that want full control over their
wireless data and infrastructures via AI-driven
operations.” -- Bob Friday, CTO and Co-founder of Mist,
a Juniper Company
“At NETGEAR, we lead with innovation to deliver the latest most
advanced smart networking products to connect people, power
businesses, and enhance the way we live. We look forward to
continuing our long-standing partnership with Broadcom to deliver
the fastest, most secure wireless experiences to NETGEAR customers
worldwide by leveraging Wi-Fi 6E.” -- David Henry, Senior Vice
President of Connected Home Products, NETGEAR
About Broadcom
Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ: AVGO) is a global technology leader that
designs, develops and supplies a broad range of semiconductor and
infrastructure software solutions. Broadcom’s category-leading
product portfolio serves critical markets including data center,
networking, enterprise software, broadband, wireless, storage and
industrial. Our solutions include data center networking and
storage, enterprise, mainframe and cyber security software focused
on automation, monitoring and security, smartphone components,
telecoms and factory automation. For more information, go to
www.broadcom.com.
Broadcom, the pulse logo, and Connecting everything are among
the trademarks of Broadcom. The term "Broadcom" refers to
Broadcom Inc., and/or its subsidiaries. Other trademarks are the
property of their respective owners.
Press Contact: Khanh LamCorporate
Communicationspress.relations@broadcom.comTelephone: +1 408 433
8649
Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO)
Historical Stock Chart
From Aug 2024 to Sep 2024
Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO)
Historical Stock Chart
From Sep 2023 to Sep 2024