Broadcom Announces New GNSS Location Chip with Support for Chinese BeiDou Satellite System

IRVINE, Calif., Dec. 9, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

News Highlights:

• Addition of Chinese BeiDou satellite system improves positioning accuracy up to 2x
• True multi-band design allows for concurrent use of any combination of satellite systems
• Advanced interference mitigation technology enables reliable performance on LTE smartphones

Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM), a global innovation leader in semiconductor solutions for wired and wireless communications, today introduced the BCM47531, a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) chip that generates positioning data from five satellite constellations simultaneously (GPS, GLONASS, QZSS, SBAS and BeiDou). The newly added BeiDou constellation increases the number of satellites available to a smartphone, enhancing navigation accuracy, particularly in urban settings where buildings and obstructions can affect performance.  For more news, visit Broadcom's Newsroom.

More than 226 million mobile phones were sold to end users in Asia in the first quarter of 2013, increasing the region's share of global mobile phones to 53.1 percent, according to Gartner.¹ As smartphone adoption continues to accelerate, users continue to identify location and mapping as a top requirement. Broadcom's new GNSS SoC is based on its widely deployed architecture that reduces the "time to first fix" (TTFF) and allows smartphones to quickly establish location and rapidly deliver mapping data. The SoC also features a tri-band tuner that enables smartphones to receive signals from all major navigation bands (GPS, GLONASS, QZSS, SBAS, and BeiDou) simultaneously. By allowing use of any combination of satellites, users experience more accurate and consistent location performance in Asia and throughout the world.

"Broadcom's new GNSS chip with BeiDou support provides OEMs with a cost-effective, low-power solution to deliver enhanced positioning capabilities for challenging city environments," said Charles Abraham, Broadcom Vice President & General Manager, GPS. "Drawing on Broadcom's long history of GNSS innovation, our new platform improves the navigation experience of smartphone users in most regions of the world and unlocks new location-aware applications."

The BCM47531 platform is available with Broadcom's Location Based Services (LBS) technology that delivers satellite assistance data to the device and provides an initial fix time within seconds, instead of the minutes that may be required to receive orbit data from the satellites themselves.                                                                           

Key Features and Benefits:

• Simultaneous support of five constellations (GPS, GLONASS, QZSS,SBAS and BeiDou) allows for position calculations based on measurements from any of 88 satellites.
• Broadcom's tri-band tuner brings the ability to receive all navigation bands, GPS (which includes QZSS and SBAS), GLONASS and BeiDou simultaneously to the commercial GNSS market without having to reconfigure and hop between bands.
• Utilizes BeiDou signals for up to 2x improved positioning accuracy.
• Best-in-class Assisted GNSS (AGNSS) data available worldwide from Broadcom's hosted reference network.
• Allows a device to interchangeably use the best signal from any satellite regardless of the constellation, ensuring better accuracy in urban and mountainous environments.
• Features advanced digital signal processing for interference rejection that enables satellite signal search and tracking during LTE transmission.
• Leverages Broadcom's connectivity solutions including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth Smart, Near Field Communications (NFC), Instant Messaging System (IMES) and handset inertial sensor data for best indoor/outdoor location.

Availability

The BCM47531 is now sampling.

For ongoing news, visit Broadcom's Newsroom, read the B-Connected Blog, or visit Facebook or Twitter. And to stay connected, subscribe to Broadcom's RSS Feed.

Resources:

¹Gartner, Market Share Analysis: Mobile Phones, Worldwide, 1Q13

About Broadcom

Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM), a FORTUNE 500® company, is a global leader and innovator in semiconductor solutions for wired and wireless communications. Broadcom® products seamlessly deliver voice, video, data and multimedia connectivity in the home, office and mobile environments.  With the industry's broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art system-on-a-chip and embedded software solutions, Broadcom is changing the world by Connecting everything®. For more information, go to www.broadcom.com.

Broadcom^®, the pulse logo, Connecting everything® and the Connecting everything logo are among the trademarks of Broadcom Corporation and/or its affiliates in the United States, certain other countries and/or the EU.  Any other trademarks or trade names mentioned are the property of their respective owners.

Contacts

SOURCE Broadcom Corporation; BRCM Mobile & Wireless