Wi-Fi Mobile Application Advantages Highlight Wireless Embedded Challenges

Nowadays, wireless network technology is increasingly favored by consumers. It will bring unprecedented convenience to consumers and at the same time, it will also encourage companies using wireless networks to experience the benefits of increased productivity. With the approval of the 802.11n standard, wireless network Wi-Fi technology has also taken a new height, and Wi-Fi has become more and more widely used in the three major areas of PC (personal computer), consumer electronics and mobile communications.

According to statistics, there are currently about 200 million mobile phones in the world with Wi-Fi Internet access. The penetration rate of Wi-Fi in mobile phones is about 20%, and the data will triple in the next few years. It is estimated that mobile phone shipments with wireless Internet access will reach 515 million units in 2014. By 2015, the penetration rate of Wi-Fi in mobile phones will reach 40%.

Mr. Michael Hurlston, vice president of BroADCom and general manager of the home and wireless networking business unit, said that the mobile phone is the largest market in the current Wi-Fi industry and can provide users with more mobile experiences. Mobile phone support Wi-Fi is mainly applied in three areas: media sharing, Wi-Fi positioning, and mobile hotspots.

Wi-Fi Mobile Application Highlights Three Advantages to Drive Global Wi-Fi Development

With the continuous development of mobile communication technology, mobile phones have become a must-have communication tool for consumers, and mobile phone support for Wi-Fi has become a trend and will drive the development of Wi-Fi technology in the world. ABI data shows that currently about half of smartphones have built-in Wi-Fi capabilities, and by 2014 this percentage will increase to about 90%. One of the factors contributing to the built-in Wi-Fi in smartphones is the need for high-bandwidth multimedia applications such as exquisite gameplay and streaming video. Smart phones can use Wi-Fi to enable high-speed wireless docking, file transfer, data synchronization, Internet information sending and receiving or chat, and browsing web pages.

Hurlston said that currently Wi-Fi technology has begun to penetrate the mobile phone market, providing users with more user experience. Mobile phone support Wi-Fi mainly in three aspects, first is the media sharing, users can use mobile phones to transfer pictures and other data to the TV or projection; followed by Wi-Fi positioning, in Europe and the United States, operators mainly through GPS Positioning, but indoors, GPS does not work, and Wi-Fi can be well positioned. Last is the mobile hotspot.

In China, the current penetration of Wi-Fi in mobile phones is not high, only 5%-6% support Wi-Fi, but the development speed is very fast. According to statistics from In-Stat, mobile phones with Wi-Fi capabilities are expected to reach 28 million this year, and this figure is expected to exceed 96 million by 2013.

Currently, there are 15 mobile phone manufacturers worldwide, and more than 75 mobile phones use Broadcom's Wi-Fi function chips, such as HTC DroidIncredible/EVO/Hero/Desire/HD Mini, Google Nexus One, etc. In addition, Broadcom has launched cooperation with Tianyu. The W366 supports Wi-Fi enabled mobile phones.

Hurlston said that the Chinese market is a market with high potential and its number of users is increasing. It is expected that China's mobile phone sales will reach 200 million this year. At present, the status of some Chinese mobile phone manufacturers in the global market is rapidly rising and will become the fourth and fifth largest mobile phone supplier in the world.

Deep embedded technology faces challenges to actively develop feasible solutions

“At present, embedded Wi-Fi technology faces many challenges in design, such as low power consumption, battery life, size, software, and cost and other technical challenges. In the future, these will be a more advanced IC hybrid process and software calculations outside the hardware layer. The dependence on the law is reduced, while reducing power consumption and extending battery life, while applications in the Wi-Fi embedded market include smart grids, medical monitoring, security and home monitoring, home appliances, etc., as well as applications such as Wireless mouse and keyboard, game console, etc." Hurlston said.

In the face of the design challenges of embedded Wi-Fi technology, Hurlston pointed out that Broadcom is taking effective and feasible solutions, such as process technology update and circuit design, self-charging, embedded processors, integration on a single chip, and multiple radio waves. Wait.

According to Hurlston, Wi-Fi technology is mainly divided into three stages in the development process. The first stage is to replace the wired LAN application in the office, and the second stage is outdoor. It is actually used in mobile phones, cameras, e-books, and Portable devices, as mobile Internet technology. The third stage of development will return to the interior, but this time it is back to the combination of home and multimedia providers, a variety of digital electronic products such as digital televisions, set-top boxes, game consoles, etc., from the Wi-Fi+DLNA specification. Products are connected to each other. Next, the promotion of Wi-Fi P2P peer-to-peer technology requires no routers. Home users can play in any two different sizes of products.

Broadcom's participation in 802.11ac/ad standardization is expected to be passed in 2012

Currently, the IEEE802.11 series of WLAN applications are the most widely used. Since the implementation of the IEEE802.11 standard in 1997, standards such as 802.11b, 802.11a, 802.11g, 802.11e, 802.11f, 802.11h, 802.11i, and 802.11j have been established or brewed. However, WLAN still faces problems such as insufficient bandwidth, roaming inconvenience, system insecurity, and no killer applications. This prompted the IEEE to develop next-generation wireless transmission standards 802.11ac and 802.11ad.

According to Hurlston, 802.11n can achieve a transmission rate of 600 Mbps, while 802.11ac and 802.11ad can reach 3.2 Gbps and 6.7 Gbps, respectively. In frequency band allocation, 802.11n currently occupies two frequency bands of 2.4 GHz and 5.15-5.90 GHz, 802.11ac will occupy the frequency band of 5.15-5.9 GHz, and 802.11ad will occupy the frequency band of 57-66 GHz. The former mainly supports data, while the latter Can support video.
Hurlston said that for the new standard, it is expected to pass the labeling certification in 2012. Broadcom will directly participate in the preliminary proposals, certifications, etc. The research and development of related products will also be followed up in time. In addition, related products will be launched next year. This will be earlier than the passage of the standard itself.