Broadcom promotes new 802.11ac Wi-Fi standard

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--Broadcom Corp. has declared its allegiance to the forthcoming 802.11ac Wi-Fi standard, which it hopes will replace the current 802.11n standard in its consumer electronics hardware lines by the end of 2012.

Rahul Patel, Broadcom's vice president of mobile and wireless told press at a recent briefing that .11ac  would almost double the  range of .11n systems, increase the available bandwidth, improved device battery life and exist on the currently far less congested  5Gz spectrum.

With reports showing that 50% of content consumed today on devices is video, with four-fold growth to 91% expected by 2015, Patel said the current standard was simply not able to deal with the sheer amount of data being pushed through it from an increasing number of connected devices.

Early data on .11ac purports that the standard would offer faster throughput, much broader coverage and higher capacity for content streaming, as well as allowing more devices to be simultaneously connected to the network, reducing connectivity deadspots and allowing devices to work for longer without needing to be plugged in.

".11ac allows you to take the link budget to new heights," said Patel, explaining that Broadcom believed the standard would take the Wi-Fi experience to a new level, especially in terms of being able to digitally beam HD 1080p content from one's PC, tablet or phone to the TV.

"At 2.4Ghz there's only three channels, but at 5Ghz you have 20 odd channels to use so you have more power and reach, there's a much wider highway for the traffic," he noted, though he admitted that the standard would not be a long term fix. "There will be a point where 20 channels won't be sufficient, but for next few years we have a solution."



Broadcom promotes new 802.11ac Wi-Fi standard