* Broadcom's latest chip
EDITOR’S NOTE: The High Speed LANs Newsletter is now called the LANs and Routers Newsletter. Thanks for reading.
Chip maker Broadcom this week introduced a wireless LAN router chip that is the first to integrate its 54g wireless technology with an IEEE 802.11g radio, an Ethernet switch and a MIPS processor.
The integrated circuit part of the industry is always innovating, putting more and more functions into a small space. This approach has long been proven to drive down costs, reduce power consumption and increase reliability, since there are fewer pieces that need to be brought together to create the products we use.
Broadcom says its new chip eliminates the need for up to 125 components you would need to build a Wi-Fi router and cuts in half the number of printed circuit board layers needed.
Broadcom also says its new chip is targeted at the market for 802.11b/g Wi-Fi, while most of the industry’s attention these days is on the next-generation 802.11n. The highly integrated product could be used in homes or wireless hot spots to provide wireless access to the Internet via a router connection.
It has built-in support for USB 2.0, support for 10/100Mbps Ethernet, and faster CPU processing compared with previous Broadcom routers. It also supports multi-BSSID technology so that multiple networks can be created through a single access point.
It also has a range-enhancement technology that Broadcom says improves the range of wireless devices by 25% over previous Broadcom technology, without increasing power usage. The radio can now detect faint Wi-Fi signals so that coverage is more complete.
The chip is already being mass-produced and is expected to ship in products by year-end.
