Broadcom Announces New 802.11ac Wi-Fi 2x2 MIMO Chip for Smartphones

Broadcom today introduced the industry's first 5G WiFi (802.11ac) 2x2 Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) system-on-a-chip (SoC) for smartphones.

The Broadcom BCM4354 SoC will enable manufacturers to deliver twice the Wi-Fi performance of 1x1 MIMO devices used in smartphones today while improving system power efficiency up to 25 percent when using wireless applications. Broadcom will showcase its mobile innovations at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, February 24-27.

Wi-Fi performance can be degraded by many factors including how a phone is held or positioned. In the past, MIMO systems have solved these problems on tablets and larger devices by using multiple antennas. With Broadcom's advanced antenna and PHY design, the BCM4354 can now deliver the benefits of 5G WiFi 2x2 MIMO to smaller platform designs like smartphones while reducing implementation complexity for designers. This achievement enables the industry's first practical implementation of 2x2 MIMO on a smartphone, opening the door for a new market segment.


In addition, Broadcom's Transmit Beamforming (TxBF) technology further improves rate over range performance in congested environments for data-intense applications. Photo and video uploads to social networking sites, for example, will be twice as fast in crowded sporting events or concert venues.

Key Features
The Broadcom BCM4354 is a dual-band combo chip for smartphones and tablets that supports 5G Wi-Fi 2x2 MIMO, Bluetooth (BT) 4.1/BLE, Rezence wireless charging support and FM radio receiver.

Highlights include:
● 867 Mbps PHY rate/80MHz channel bandwidth
● SDIO 3.0 and low-power PCIe host interfaces for WLAN; UART and USB for BT
● Android, Windows and Chrome-based operating systems support
● Low Density Parity Check Codes (LDPC), Space Time Block Coding (STBC), TurboQAM and high-accuracy indoor location

The BCM4354 chip is now in production and its possible that Apple could use it in the next generation iPhone. The iPhone 5s supports up to 802.11n connectivity.