Qualcomm Introduces Industry’s First Wave 2 802.11ac Wi-Fi System-on-Chip for Routers, Gateways and Access Points
–Fully Integrated, Single Chip Incorporates Next Generation Qualcomm Internet Processor–
SAN DIEGO, Calif. – Oct. 20, 2015 – Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) through its subsidiary, Qualcomm Atheros, Inc., today introduced the industry’s first fully integrated, smart gateway system-on-chip (SoC) incorporating its next generation Qualcomm® Internet Processor (IPQ), Qualcomm® VIVE™ with Qualcomm® MU | EFX MU-MIMO technology, built-in Gigabit Ethernet, Qualcomm® StreamBoost™, with support for dual band simultaneous (DBS) transmission and LTE backhaul.
The IPQ40x8/x9 SoC will be the basis for a wide variety of applications and services, including home routers, enterprise access points, hotspots, carrier LTE gateways and range extenders. This fully integrated solution will provide for cost-effective development while ensuring top-of-the-line network performance and efficiency.
The IPQ40x8/x9 integrates two 2×2 radios capable of up to 1.73 Gbps maximum PHY rate, a quad-core ARM CPU and a Gigabit Ethernet switch onto the same silicon chip. As the industry’s first fully integrated Wave 2 MU-MIMO Wi-Fi® solution, the IPQ40x8/x9 is a cost, size and power-effective solution that enables original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to bring 11ac benefits to mainstream segments. Additionally, IPQ40x8/x9 has the flexibility to configure its radios for traditional 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz dual band simultaneous operation, or both configured to 5 GHz band for single-band simultaneous or range extender operation.
Platforms based on the IPQ40x8/x9 are highly configurable with USB3.0, PCIe, SD/eMMC, Ethernet and LTE interfaces, making them suitable for a large number of use cases, including smart home gateways and Internet-of-Everything hubs, to residential consumer premises equipment (CPE), to Wi-Fi backhaul equipment, to LTE gateways.
“With the introduction of this groundbreaking system-on-chip, Qualcomm Atheros is creating a new level of smart gateway that is cost optimized for OEMs and fully featured for carriers, and brings 11ac Wave-2 performance to enterprises and retail applications alike,” said Tony Hsu, senior director of product management, Qualcomm Atheros, Inc. “We are very excited about extending our leadership in Wi-Fi innovation to new products. This next generation of smart gateways are designed to make it easier and more affordable for OEMs to offer top-of-the-line features to a wider range of consumers.”
The IPQ40x8/x9 is sampling to key customers now and is expected to be in mass production in first quarter 2016.
About Qualcomm Incorporated
Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) is a world leader in 3G, 4G and next-generation wireless technologies. Qualcomm Incorporated includes Qualcomm’s licensing business, QTL, and the vast majority of its patent portfolio. Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, operates, along with its subsidiaries, substantially all of Qualcomm’s engineering, research and development functions, and substantially all of its products and services businesses, including its semiconductor business, QCT. For more than 30 years, Qualcomm ideas and inventions have driven the evolution of digital communications, linking people everywhere more closely to information, entertainment and each other. For more information, visit Qualcomm’s website, OnQ blog, Twitter and Facebook pages.
