Broadcom launches the world's first 5G WiFi single-chip system

     Broadcom announced the launch of the world's first 5G WiFi system-on-a-chip (SoC), the BCM43460, further strengthening its leadership and strong momentum in the 5G WiFi chip market. The BCM43460 is designed to meet the growing need for gigabit interconnection in enterprise networks, wireless cloud networks and carrier access networks. The BCM43460 System on a Chip (SoC) is based on the new IEEE 802.11ac standard, which offers up to three times the speed and one-sixth the power consumption compared to previous generation 802.11n solutions, and the BCM43460 can fully interwork with traditional 802.11 technology.

     Rajiv Ramaswami, executive vice president and general manager of Infrastructure and Networks at Broadcom, said: "Enterprise networks are about to enter a new era of mobile computing, where tablets and smartphones will be ubiquitous in the workplace. "Broadcom is at the forefront of developing the latest wireless technologies for the enterprise, providing reliable and powerful interconnection capabilities to meet the increasing demands of employees who want to be unconnected."

     According to a recent survey of companies conducted by Infonetics, employees around the world are replacing desktops and laptops with smartphones and tablets, and corporate IT departments are actively implementing the interconnection of smartphones and tablets. As the number of mobile devices continues to rise and cloud-based enterprise networks continue to grow rapidly, IT managers must rethink how they configure, manage, and secure their computing resources and access to information.

     Increasing reliance on wireless networks, explosive growth in video consumption, and an increasing number of wireless devices are all putting tremendous pressure on traditional 802.11a/b/g/n networks. 5G WiFi addresses these challenges well by introducing new and innovative technologies that enable more reliable coverage, while also enabling mobile device users to transfer digital content faster between devices, connecting more wireless devices to home and business networks, and reducing battery power consumption.

     There are bandwidth-intensive applications in the enterprise, such as video conferencing and customer relationship management (CRM), which require wireless transmission rates comparable to Gigabit Ethernet and require wireless networks to be compatible with centralized wired gigabit networks.

     BCM43460, 2.4GHz / 5GHz single-chip MAC/PHY/Radio for enterprise and carrier grade access points, branch routers, and enterprise integrated service routers. The BCM43460 offers many new features, such as Broadcom's revolutionary explicit and implicit transmit beamforming technology, which significantly increases the range, coverage and network efficiency of enterprise wireless networks, especially when using single-antenna devices such as smartphones.

     There is also a new feature for enterprises, airtime fairness, which enables higher performance in denser environments made up of mixed-rate Wi-Fi devices. In addition, advanced spectrum analysis features combine deep RF analysis with real-time WLAN information to spot performance issues in real time. This feature is critical for businesses, helping them to monitor interference in their networks and provide more reliable and consistent wireless services. With system-level support based on industry standards for WPA, WPA2, hardware-accelerated AES encryption/decryption TKIP, and IEEE 802.1X, the BCM43460 provides state-of-the-art security.

     Broadcom has integrated FASTPATH Unified Wireless Switch (UWS) and Unified Access Point (UAP) software with 5G WiFi devices, providing a fully integrated solution for WLAN controllers, unified switches, and access points. By integrating Broadcom's industry-leading WLAN chips, switching chips and networking software, Broadcom provides device manufacturers with a complete platform that enables them to provide a unified wireless networking solution. This highly integrated, low-power enterprise WLAN solution enables seamless mobility across the enterprise while providing network management, scalability, security, performance, and cost benefits comparable to wired networks.