Broadcom this week announced what it claims is the world’s first Wi-Fi 6E client device, the BCM4389.
Wi-Fi 6E extends the Wi-Fi 6 standard to support the soon-to-be-operational 6 GHz band with wider 160MHz channel bandwidths that double Wi-Fi speeds and cut latency in half compared to Wi-Fi 5. The BCM4389 delivers over 2 Gbps of real-world speeds and up to five times better battery utilization, making it an ideal solution for flagship smartphones and future AR/VR devices, claims Broadcom.
Wi-Fi 6E builds on the rich feature set of Wi-Fi 6, which includes improved performance in crowded environments, advanced roaming capabilities and increased security. This enhancement of Wi-Fi 6 uses new spectrum in the 6 GHz band to deliver multi-gigabit speeds while avoiding congestion with legacy devices.
The BCM4389 also brings advanced multi-radio technology to Bluetooth. Inspired by sophisticated Wi-Fi communication techniques such as multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) and beamforming, the BCM4389 improves audio performance and range for any connected Bluetooth accessory.
In yet another first, the BCM4389 utilizes Broadcom’s new tri-band simultaneous (TBS) connectivity architecture to mobile devices. In addition to two main Wi-Fi radios and a MIMO Bluetooth radio, the BCM4389 incorporates a third ultra-low-power independent radio for optimizing Wi-Fi and Bluetooth performance.
Vijay Nagarajan, VP of Marketing for the Wireless Communications and Connectivity Division, Broadcom
The BCM4389 delivers on the core advantages of the 6 GHz band, multi-gigabit wireless speeds and very low latency.
Phil Solis, Research Director, IDC
There are many video-related use cases that require shorter ranges that fit perfectly with the many large 160 MHz-wide channels that the 6 GHz spectrum band is capable of supporting.
