Qualcomm Drives 802.11ac 2.0 Ecosystem to Bring Faster Wi-Fi Connectivity to Home Networks, Mobile Devices and Consumer Electronics

AMSTERDAM, Oct. 21, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) today announced that its subsidiary, Qualcomm Atheros, Inc., is putting high performance Wi-Fi^® connectivity in consumers' hands and homes with the only end-to-end ecosystem of 802.11ac 2.0 solutions with multi-user multi-input/multi-output (MU-MIMO). Leading home networking manufacturers such as AVM are introducing products based on Qualcomm^® VIVE™ 802.11ac chipsets with Qualcomm^® MU | EFX MU-MIMO technology, which Qualcomm Atheros introduced earlier this year to greatly improve Wi-Fi performance for the growing number of connected devices on home, business and public networks. Mobile device manufacturers are also preparing smartphones and tablets to take advantage of these advanced features to achieve up to three times faster 11ac Wi-Fi. Further expanding its portfolio of 11ac 2.0 capable chips, Qualcomm Atheros is introducing the QCA9377, which extends the performance benefits of MU | EFX to notebooks, TVs, cameras, and other consumer electronics that are connecting to increasingly crowded Wi-Fi networks. The single-stream 11ac + Bluetooth 4.1 combination chip is designed to provide the best possible performance with reduced power consumption.

Qualcomm VIVE is the only line of 802.11ac 2.0 solutions for networking equipment, consumer electronics, and mobile and computing devices. With more devices connecting via Wi-Fi, Qualcomm VIVE enabled networks with MU | EFX can multi-task like never before – supporting more simultaneous devices to make better use of wireless capacity that is wasted in Wi-Fi networks that serve one device at a time. As a result, Qualcomm MU | EFX helps consumers experience Wi-Fi to its maximum effect, with up to three times faster connections than other 802.11ac solutions currently available.

Showcasing Qualcomm Atheros' leadership in this sector, AVM will introduce a new FRITZ! Box router based on the Qualcomm IPQ and 4-stream 802.11ac with MU-MIMO products, targeting both retail and carrier segments.

"At the Broadband World Forum in Amsterdam, we will show the first over-the-air live demonstration with a FRITZ!Box and Qualcomm Atheros MU-MIMO chipset. The upcoming Wave 2 standard offers higher data throughput and is one of the best wireless LAN for smartphones and tablets," said Peter Faxel, executive vice president of products and technology and member of the board, AVM.

The new QCA9377 enables high-speed Wi-Fi connectivity and enriched media experiences for laptops, notebooks, connected TVs, media adapters, audio, gaming systems, and more. It is also optimized for energy efficiency, which is critical to extending the battery life of portable devices. The software stack offers best-in-class quality, stability and performance with an open source option, and the future-proofed architecture allows for seamless evolution. As part of its commitment to deliver a full line of 802.11ac 2.0 solutions with MU-MIMO, Qualcomm Atheros has enabled mobile customers using its 802.11ac products (QCA6174A and WCN3680B) to include Qualcomm MU | EFX in forthcoming smartphones and tablets – bringing mobile clients one step closer to 11ac 2.0 features.

"Consumers are constantly looking for a faster, more efficient Wi-Fi experience. Qualcomm and companies like AVM are working to ensure that consumers can easily access and enjoy 4k video, gaming and other latency-sensitive activities by delivering reliable high performance connectivity," said Cristiano Amon, executive vice president and co-president of Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. "Qualcomm's Wi-Fi leadership continues with the only MU-MIMO solution ecosystem to span from access points to client devices to help accelerate the performance benefits of Wi-Fi to meet the needs of today's consumers."

Availability

Qualcomm Atheros will be conducting the industry's first over-the-air, end-to-end MU-MIMO demonstration featuring Qualcomm MU | EFX 802.11ac 2.0 enabled networking and client-side chips at Broadband World Forum in Amsterdam, October 21-23. Visit stand MR5 to see the demo and learn more. The QCA9377 is sampling now and will be available in production quantities later this year.

About Qualcomm Incorporated

Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) is a world leader in 3G, 4G and next-generation wireless technologies. Qualcomm Incorporated includes Qualcomm's licensing business, QTL, and the vast majority of its patent portfolio. Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, operates, along with its subsidiaries, substantially all of Qualcomm's engineering, research and development functions, and substantially all of its products and services businesses, including its semiconductor business, QCT. For more than 25 years, Qualcomm ideas and inventions have driven the evolution of digital communications, linking people everywhere more closely to information, entertainment and each other. For more information, visit Qualcomm's website, OnQ blog, Twitter and Facebook pages.

Qualcomm and VIVE are trademarks of Qualcomm Incorporated, registered in the United States and other countries.  Qualcomm VIVE and Qualcomm MU | EFX are products of Qualcomm Atheros, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated. Wi-Fi is a registered trademark of the Wi-Fi Alliance. All other trademarks are the sole property of their respective owners.

Qualcomm Contacts:
Emily Kilpatrick, Corporate Communications
Phone: 1-858-845-5959
Email: [email protected]

Warren Kneeshaw, Investor Relations
Phone: 1-858-658-4813
Email: [email protected]

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SOURCE Qualcomm Incorporated

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