Following a CES preview event last month, Broadcom today announced its first family of 802.11ac (also known as 5G Wi-Fi) chips, designed for a broad range of product segments.
The chipmaker says the new IEEE 802.11ac chips are three times faster and up to six times more efficient than equivalent existing 802.11n (known as Wi-Fi) solutions. This makes 5G Wi-Fi a major step up from from the existing and popular 802.11a/b/g/n wireless solutions.
According to Broadcom, its 5G Wi-Fi chips will dramatically improve the wireless range and data rates, allowing consumers to watch HD video, and transfer large amounts of data to and from more devices, in more places at once.
The fact that the chips can transmit a much larger amount of data in the same amount of time, compared with 802.11n devices, means that the 5G Wi-Fi devices can enter low-power mode faster and more frequently, resulting in significant reductions in power consumption.
Read more: http://www.cnet.com/8301-33372_1-57352574/broadcom-802.11ac-wi-fi-chips-hit-ces-2012/#ixzz1iaojxJ7r
