Broadcom Boosts Performance and Cuts Cost of 802.11n Routers with Industry's Most Integrated Solutions
Intensi-fi(R) XLR Solutions with Accelerange(TM) Technology Enable 802.11n Routers to Provide a Strong Wireless Backbone for the Networked Home
TAIPEI, Taiwan, June 3 -- Computex 2008 -- Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ:BRCM), a global leader in semiconductors for wired and wireless communications, today announced three wireless LAN (WLAN) router solutions with integrated processors that will enable a full line of 802.11n routers with industry-leading performance and consumer-friendly cost points. Wi-Fi(R) manufacturers can not only use the new Intensi-fi(R) XLR solutions to build simultaneous dual-band routers for high definition (HD) video streaming, but can also leverage its unparalleled silicon integration to reduce the cost difference between 802.11n and 802.11g products. To provide a strong wireless backbone for the networked home, Broadcom has optimized its new 802.11n router platform with Accelerange(TM) technology -- a unique set of hardware and software enhancements that ensures more robust wireless coverage in the far corners of a home.
Sales of 802.11n routers are outpacing 802.11g routers as consumers seek faster and more reliable wireless connectivity. According to In-Stat Research, the chipset market for consumer 802.11n routers, gateways and access points will top 30.8 million units this year, driven by increasing demand for high performance wireless networks that can accommodate a variety of entertainment, communications and data applications.
"The proliferation of video and mobile services into the home is not only creating new usage models for communications and entertainment devices, but imposing new requirements for network infrastructure to support multimedia applications," said Chandra Viswanathan, Senior Product Line Manager for Broadcom's Wireless LAN line of business. "The new Broadcom(R) 802.11n solutions are optimized to deliver maximum performance for video, VoIP and gaming applications throughout the digital home. At the same time, we have achieved new levels of integration to reset the bar for low-cost routers."
Announced today are the BroadcomBCM4716, BCM4717 and BCM4718 WLAN solutions, which provide Wi-Fi vendors with a single platform to build single-band and dual-band 802.11n routers with distinct feature sets and price points. Each of the new solutions combines most of the elements needed to build a 2-stream 802.11n router(i), including a MIPS(R) 74K(TM) processor, onto a single monolithic die. Broadcom's highly integrated 65 nanometer (nm) designs reduce the number of system components, which lowers the rest of bill of materials (RBOM) cost by up to 35 percent. The new solutions further reduce cost by using two-layer printed circuit boards (PCBs), making high-end routers more affordable to consumers and bringing the price of basic 802.11n routers within the range of 802.11g products.
Broadcom's dual-band solutions offer a small footprint and on-board processor that make it easier for manufacturers to build compact Wi-Fi access points and travel routers, or add dual-band 802.11n capabilities to consumer electronics, such as digital televisions, set-top boxes and other video equipment.
Accelerange Technology: Optimized for Multimedia
Unlike competitive solutions, the BCM4716, BCM4717 and BCM4718 reduce cost without sacrificing performance. The new Intensi-fi XLR platform builds upon the architecture of Broadcom's current 802.11n solutions and maintains data rates of up to 300 Megabits per second (Mbps) in each band. To provide Wi-Fi users with the best possible multimedia experience throughout a home, Broadcom has added several hardware and software enhancements to the new router solutions. These enhancements, collectively known as Accelerange technology, employ several advanced techniques that ensure robust wireless signals over a larger coverage area, which is critical for video streaming and other low latency applications.
Intensi-fi XLR routers with Accelerange technology provide the strongest wireless backbone for the home network by:
-- Leveraging a superior radio and digital architecture to provide excellent wireless coverage;
-- Boosting output power to increase signal strength at the edge of a home network;
-- Automatically detecting multimedia streams and adjusting for optimal delivery;
-- Finding the shortest path for multimedia transmissions to minimize air-time and reduce opportunities for interference;
-- Increasing the robustness of connections with Space Time Block Coding (STBC);
-- Adding intelligence to enable reliable multicast traffic over a wireless network;
-- Supporting up to three antennas and using intelligent algorithms to increase performance, regardless of location and orientation of the client device.
Though many of the techniques used in Accelerange technology are optional elements of the 802.11n specification, Broadcom is currently the only WLAN chipmaker to implement all of them. This provides a great performance advantage for products based on Intensi-fi solutions and enables the new wireless router family to maintain interoperability with other Wi-Fi CERTIFIED(TM) 802.11n devices -- even those that do not include the technology.
Technical information
Each of the new Intensi-fi XLR router solutions include a high-performance processor, an 802.11n medium access controller (MAC), a baseband processor, a 2.4/5 GHz radio, a Gigabit Ethernet MAC and other WLAN components. The new product family enables manufacturers to address the full spectrum of router applications with distinct feature sets and price points.
The BCM4716 integrates a high performance 300MHz CPU architecture to provide the optimal balance of performance and cost for basic WLAN routers that connect to Fast Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet networks. By leveraging extreme chip integration, the single-band (2.4 GHz) solution reduces the cost premium of 802.11n over 802.11g.
The BCM4717 provides dual-band (2.4 GHz/5 GHz) capabilities in a small package for WLAN routers, access points, set-top boxes and digital televisions, in which compact form factors are important. The highly integrated package also integrates a high performance 300 MHz CPU and offers options for Fast Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet PHYs.
The BCM4718 integrates a 533MHz CPU with a high performance memory architecture to push the limits of simultaneous dual-band performance for high-end Gigabit Ethernet routers, and features USB host ports to support media storage routers. Simultaneous dual-band routers are increasingly popular as more Wi-Fi users dedicate the 5 GHz portion of their wireless networks for video streaming and VoIP calls, and use the 2.4 GHz band for traditional data applications. Broadcom's Intensi-fi platform was the industry's first to offer regulatory certification for dynamic frequency selection (DFS), which provides Wi-Fi users with fifteen additional channels on which to transmit video, voice and data.
Like all of Broadcom's award-winning Wi-Fi products, the new router solutions leverage OneDriver(TM) software to provide a consistent set of features that deliver superior performance, ease-of-use and security for Intensi-fi based products. OneDriver software also includes support for Linux(R), VxWorks(R) and NetBSD(R) operating systems and is Microsoft Vista(R) Basic/Premium certified.
Availability and Pricing
The BCM4716, BCM4717 and BCM4718 wireless LAN (WLAN) solutions are now sampling to early access customers with production quantities expected to ship in the third quarter of 2008. Pricing is available upon request.
Broadcom is demonstrating its new Intensi-fi XLR solutions with Accelerange technology at Computex 2008, June 3rd through 7th in Taipei, Taiwan.
About Broadcom
Broadcom Corporation is a major technology innovator and global leader in semiconductors for wired and wireless communications. Broadcom products enable the delivery of voice, video, data and multimedia to and throughout the home, the office and the mobile environment. We provide the industry's broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art system-on-a-chip and software solutions to manufacturers of computing and networking equipment, digital entertainment and broadband access products, and mobile devices. These solutions support our core mission: Connecting everything(R).
Broadcom is one of the world's largest fabless semiconductor companies, with 2007 revenue of $3.78 billion, and holds over 2,600 U.S. and 1,200 foreign patents, more than 7,450 additional pending patent applications, and one of the broadest intellectual property portfolios addressing both wired and wireless transmission of voice, video, data and multimedia.
Broadcom is headquartered in Irvine, Calif., and has offices and research facilities in North America, Asia and Europe. Broadcom may be contacted at +1.949.926.5000 or at www.broadcom.com.
Broadcom(R), the pulse logo, Connecting everything(R), the Connecting everything logo, Intensi-fi(R), Accelerange(TM) and OneDriver(TM) are among the trademarks of Broadcom Corporation and/or its affiliates in the United States, certain other countries and/or the EU. Wi-Fi(R) and Wi-Fi CERTIFIED(TM) are trademarks of the Wi-Fi Alliance. MIPS(R) and 74K(TM) are trademarks of MIPS Technologies, Inc. VxWorks(R) is a trademark of Wind River Systems, Inc. NetBSD(R) is a trademark of The NetBSD Foundation. Linux(R) is a trademark of Linus Torvalds. Any other trademarks or trade names mentioned are the property of their respective owners.
(i) WLAN solutions must be paired with a switch or PHY solution to build a complete router. This could include Broadcom's BCM5325 (Fast Ethernet switch), BCM53115 (Gigabit Ethernet switch), BCM5241 (Fast Ethernet PHY) or BCM5481 (Gigabit Ethernet PHY). Company Information: Name: Broadcom Corp. Address: 16215 Alton Pkwy. City: Irvine State: CA ZIP: 92618 Country: USA Phone: 949-450-8700 FAX: 949-450-8710 http://www.broadcom.com
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