Broadcom Introduces Industry's First 5G WiFi Combo Chip With Real Simultaneous Dual Band Support

BARCELONA, Spain, March 2, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Mobile World Congress

News Highlights:

• New 2x2 MIMO chip for high-performance smartphone allows users to run applications on two bands simultaneously
• New 1x1 5G WiFi combo chip delivers speed and range benefits of 802.11ac in mass market smartphones

Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM), a global innovation leader in semiconductor solutions for wired and wireless communications, today announced the industry's first 5G WiFi 2x2 Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) combo chip with Real Simultaneous Dual Band (RSDB) support for mobile devices. The BCM4359 enables devices to transmit and receive over two bands simultaneously, delivering a dramatically improved experience to highly connected, multi-tasking users. Broadcom will showcase its innovations for the mobile and carrier ecosystem at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, March 2-5. For more news, visit Broadcom's Newsroom.

By enabling RSDB support, the BCM4359 is able to connect to the 5GHz and 2.4GHz bands simultaneously, improving the throughput and latency when using multiple applications at the same time, particularly video streaming and gaming. The BCM4359 also maximizes the bandwidth at an 867 megabit per second (Mbps) PHY rate in two-stream MIMO mode and can quickly switch to RSDB mode for applications that require concurrent multi-band connections for higher quality of service. 

"Our new BCM4359 chip extends Broadcom's leadership in high-performance MIMO technology," said David Recker, Broadcom Senior Director, Wireless Connectivity. "As Wi-Fi and Bluetooth continue to advance and adoption continues to skyrocket, consumers have come to expect a flawless experience when connecting wirelessly. By enabling smartphones and tablets to simultaneously operate in more than one unlicensed frequency spectrum, this advanced 5G WiFi MIMO combo architecture ensures the most highly connected users have the most optimal experience."

The BCM4359 also supports Dynamic Frequency Selection (DFS) which enables the device to utilize additional channels resulting in a faster connection with less interference.  In addition, Broadcom's proprietary Narrow Band technology enables up to a 2x increase in range, which greatly extends the connection distance between devices. When used with the newly announced BCM4366 4x4 MU MIMO chip for routers, the BCM4359 delivers an end-to-end solution that can unlock the benefits of next-generation MU MIMO technology.   

In addition, Broadcom is introducing a highly integrated and cost-optimized 1x1 5G WiFi combo chip for mass market smartphones. The BCM43455 delivers the power and performance benefits of 5G WiFi while reducing the Rest of Bill of Materials (RBOM) costs by up to 50 percent. 

Key Features
The BCM4359 is Broadcom's 2x2 MIMO 5G WiFi combo chip with Bluetooth 4.1 and FM radio featuring:  

• 2x2 HT80 802.11ac,  2.4GHz and 5GHz
• Supports 2 or 3-antenna configurations for more advanced functions
• WLAN MU-MIMO client support
• 2.4GHz TurboQAM - for up to 33 percent increase in throughput performance.
• 867 Mbps PHY rate/80MHz channel bandwidth
• PCIe Gen1 with low-power L1 substates
• Bluetooth 4.1+Bluetooth Low Energy
• Transmit  beamforming and Low Density Parity Check (LDPC)
• Fast scan enables simultaneous scan on two channels with 50 percent reduction in scan time
• Fast mode switch between RSDB and 2x2 MIMO modes

The BCM43455 is Broadcom's latest 1x1 5G WiFi combo chip with Bluetooth 4.1 and FM radio featuring:  

• 1x1 HT80 802.11ac, 2.5GHz and 5GHz
• 433 Mbps PHY rate/80MHz channel bandwidth
• High performance iPA and iLNA
• Configurable iTR for 2.4GHz radio
• Supports LDPC, beamforming and LTE coexistence
• TurboQAM increases the speed by up to 33%
  • Flexible host interfaces: SDIO3.0 and PCIe
  • Reduced RBOM

Availability
The BCM4359 and BCM43455 are 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.

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 one of the industry's broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art system-on-a-chip solutions, Broadcom is changing the world by Connecting everything®. For more information, go to www.broadcom.com.

Broadcom^®, the pulse logo, Connecting everything®, the Connecting everything logo and the 5G WiFi 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.

SOURCE Broadcom Corporation; BRCM Wireless and Connectivity