India Broadband Forum

India Broadband Internet

With cell phones and other mobile devices becoming the major communication and entertainment channels for consumers, Wi-Fi connectivity provides faster speeds to enable the consumers to download more information, photos and music quickly. Wi-Fi connectivity is provided by the Wi-Fi chips. These chips can be configured for 802.11b/g or 802.11a/b/g functions using different WLAN RF solutions. The Wi-Fi chips revolutionise mobile entertainment and communications experience. They deliver improved mobile computing and communication capabilities, including next generation mobile processors.

The Wi-Fi chips offer the manufacturers unmatched size, power and cost reductions and consume less power in the use of battery, leading to substantially enhanced functioning. The chips integrate a USB 2.0 interface for high performance WLAN applications such as digital video recorders, video conferencing cameras, high resolution scanners and external storage devices. The chips also offer wireless media extensions, reliable transfer of real-time voice, video and data.

The AR5005UG and AR5005UX chipsets from Atheros, the TNETW1250 from TI, NRX700 from Nanoradio AB, a miniature 802.11b wireless LAN chip from Alps Electric, Centrino from Intel, BCM1160 from Broadcom and Intersil’s Prism chipsets are some of the Wi-Fi chips available in the market. The NRX700 from Nanoradio AB, Sweden with the size of 20mm2 is regarded as the smallest Wi-Fi chip in the market. It has one of the lowest power consumptions in transmit, receive and stand-by modes compared to any one or two chip solutions in the market. The BCM1160 from Broadcom is a VoIP chip that comes with many useful features while consuming minimum power.

The TNETW1250 is designed to use 50 per cent less power and supports cell phone applications including VoWLAN, streaming media and faster roaming between access points. The chip from Alps Electric draws only about a milliwatt. The chip is very useful for PDAs and digital cameras.

The Wi-Fi chip market is witnessing unparalleled growth which is expected to continue in the coming years. It has been spurred by mobile PCs, home/SOHO wireless routers and residential gateways. According to market research firm In-Stat, the market is predicted to soar from 140 million chipset shipments in 2005 to 430 million in 2009. The market is witnessing a shift with new devices such as handheld games, cell phones gaming consoles and printers set to contribute substantially to the burgeoning market.