Communications: Wireless Chip Sets Comply With 802.11n And Deliver 300 Mbits/s
The Intensi-fi wireless local-area network (WLAN) chip sets comply with the IEEE 802.11n draft specification. Intensi-fi technology incorporates all mandatory elements of the draft specification and can be software-upgraded once the standard is finalized. The technology supports multiple simultaneous data (or "spatial") streams over multiple transmit and receive antennas to provide data rates of over 300 Mbits/s and more robust coverage than legacy 802.11 products, which use one transmitter and one receiver to support a single data stream. The Intensi-fi family initially includes four devices. The BCM4321 media access controller (MAC) provides physicallayer rates of over 300 Mbits/s and interfaces to PCI, Cardbus, and PCI-Express hosts. The BCM2055 802.11 radio integrates multiple 2.4- and 5-GHz radios to support simultaneous spatial streams with 2x2, 3x3, or 4x4 antenna configurations. The BCM4704 wireless network processor provides advanced routing/bridging capabilities. And, the BCM4705 next-generation wireless network processor supports simultaneous operation of 2.4- and 5-GHz radios and integrates a Gigabit Ethernet MAC to enable greater than 100-Mbit/s throughput between draft 802.11n and Ethernet networks. All of the chips are now sampling. Contact the company for volume pricing.
Broadcom Corp.
www.broadcom.com