WLAN chipset newcomer Quantenna today announced the first 4x4 MIMO 802.11n chip family, which extends raw throughput to 600 Mbps. I had not expected to see such capability for another year or so, but, let's face it, more throughput is always a good thing and startups tend to provide the innovation that produces such great leaps forward. And note here we are talking about 4x4 radios, not 4x4 streams or some other metric of chip configuration or performance. I've not tested a product based on any of Quantenna's components, but this appears to be the real deal.
The company's marketing emphasizes residential applications, and 4x4 could be a boon to video distribution in the home. Such is not; however, required here; I'm getting adequate performance, at least on smaller screens, using the Slingbox Pro and 2x2 .11n, and I remain a big fan of information-theoretical (but eminently practical) solutions like Amimon that hold down throughput requirements in the first place. But MIMO isn't just about throughput; it's also about range and reliability. All of these parameters are regardless important in enterprise and carrier/public-access applications as well, and Quantenna is staking out the high ground in these spaces too. It takes guts to take on the likes of Atheros, Broadcom, Intel, Marvell, and the few others who remain as factors in what many had assumed was a consolidating WLAN chip market. But just as is the case with WLAN systems, the innovation rate in components remains high, demand continues to build, and opportunity is thus pervasive throughout the WLAN value chain.
I'm looking forward to getting my hands on a product based on Quantenna's components, but I have no doubt that they can do what they advertise. The chips are robust in functionality, and the product family already has a broad range of performance and capability defined. Of course, Quantenna is addressing the high end of the market, and one might argue that the real volume - and most of the money - is at the low end. It may turn out over the long run, however, that there's not a lot of difference between the two, as it's just a matter of price, packaging, and power consumption. Competitors can thus be expected to respond with all due haste. Regardless, it's great to see announcements like this - just as is the case with the stock market, the long-term trend in wireless is always up.
Mathias is a principal at Farpoint Group, a wireless advisory firm in Ashland, Mass.
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