It’s not often that a company welcomes a competitor to the game – but Qualcomm’s recent announcement of an 802.11ac product line is a bit different because it bodes well for the technology industry and consumers looking forward to the next generation of WiFi products. Â You see, we at Broadcom have been sampling our own 802.11ac – what we’re calling 5G WiFi – product family to customers and partners since December. And next week at Mobile World Congress, we’ll be showcasing it even further.
Being first to market with 802.11ac and least two quarters ahead of our competitors feels like the right position for us. We expect customers to be enjoying the full benefits of 5G WiFi as early as Fall 2012. But it’s more than just the 5G WiFi speeds. The reliability will be improved and the backward compatibility with existing WiFi products will make for a seamless upgrade. Our 5G WiFi product line addresses all market and consumer needs for 2012, with solutions for state-of-the-art networking equipment and mobile devices.
The demand for the next-generation of WiFi technology is strong – and Qualcomm’s entry further validates what we realized some time ago. NPD In-stat indicates that the number of 802.11ac-enabled devices will rise to 1 billion units in 2015. Our 5G WiFi solutions extend our position as the leader in combos and connectivity. In fact, we enable the majority of dual-band Wi-Fi solutions. Our solid track record – 1 billion combo chips to date – is proof of our best-in-class IP, broad and stable software, power efficiency and focus on performance and integration.
We consistently have shown the ability to balance key variables – features, power, integration, performance and footprint – in our connectivity solutions. Our 5G WiFi roadmap is no different – and there’s plenty of excitement about the rapid adoption 5G WiFi and the exciting new possibilities that the technology will open for consumers.
For more details on 5G WiFi and 802.11ac, please visit www.5gwifi.org and our 5G WiFi blog.
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