WBA member Broadcom today announced it has created the world’s first mobile Wi-Fi 6E chip set in anticipation of regulators opening 6 GHz unlicensed spectrum for next-gen Wi-Fi capability. As similar announcements are expected from other WBA members, it’s important to understand the massive potential of 6 GHz applications.

Vendors and operators have already shipped more than 150 million Wi-Fi 6 chips in phones and routers.  Wi-Fi 6, which operates in the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands, enables more devices to simultaneously operate on the same Wi-Fi channel, improving efficiency, latency times and data throughput of the wireless network. Wi-Fi 6E further extends (thus the E designation) Wi-Fi functionality to the 6 GHz spectrum band to further increasing throughput and lowering latency.

Importantly, as far as Wi-Fi is concerned, the 6 GHz spectrum is expected to be  exclusively reserved for new Wi-Fi 6E devices and access points that are specifically “E” enabled – meaning legacy devices (Wi-Fi 5 and earlier) that operate in 2.4 and 5 GHz bands won’t have access to the 6 GHz band. As such, Wi-Fi 6E supports:

  • Double the channels from 80 MHz to 160 MHz, ultimately adding three 160 MHz channels with no DFS in Europe and seven additional 160 MHz channels with no DFS in the United States
  • 2 Gbps speeds for phones over Wi-Fi
  • Significantly reduced real-time latency – circa 2ms consistently
  • Fully scheduled traffic with no channel contention

“At Broadcom, we pride ourselves in delivering technology that defines the market. The BCM4389, the world’s first Wi-Fi 6E mobile chip, is no exception since it paves the way for our wirelessly connected AR/VR future,” said Vijay Nagarajan, vice president of marketing for the Wireless Communications and Connectivity Division at Broadcom. “The BCM4389 delivers on the core advantages of the 6 GHz band, multi-gigabit wireless speeds and very low latency. It also represents a paradigm shift in wireless design thinking with technology that brings glitch-free audio experience with Bluetooth headsets, fast pairing with wireless accessories, accurate indoor location, high battery efficiency and other everyday consumer experiences.”

Broadcom’s new chip takes advantage of these features and also improves power consumption by 5 times and also uses Bluetooth 5 with MIMO to eradicate Wi-Fi interference and audio chopping. These capabilities support a number of new use cases, including mobile augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR); ultra high-definition (UHD) video streaming; high-speed tethering; and in-vehicle entertainment. Click here to see a presentation that outlines how the chip works.

The members of Wireless Broadband Alliance including Broadcom, Intel, and Cisco among others are working on Wi-Fi 6E end-to-end trials and inviting the industry to join. Initial results may be available as early as March. To find out more contact us