Broadcom Announces New 5G 802.11ac Wi-Fi Chip for Smartphones

[danielsutton]

you're right.


Fall 2019!

lol.

 

[Curun]

This will improve both your range, Internet speeds, and web application response times. The why for those later two items can be saved for another day.

Range. 5ghz signals of 802.11ac is still attenuated by walls and distance far more than 802.11n 2.4ghz. MIMO and beam-forming might help reduce that deficiency, but its still there.

Internet Speeds. US avg broadband speed is 21mbps. That older 72mbps 802.11N has a typical throughput of about 40mbps. More than enough. Even if a user has some super fiber connection, there are diminishing returns starting around 10mbps, maybe less, where there is no perceived improvement to the end-user-experience.
(Unless your downloading a 2GB video file over your 1gbps fiber link, from your WD MyCloud setup on your father's 1gbps fiber link... But this is an incredibly rare scenario)

Web application response times.. The old 72mbps 2.4ghz 802.11N is perfectly capable of single digit latency, and the 40mbps typical throughput... roughly 5MB/s, will yank down webpages no slower than a gigabit link. Hamstrung by neither latency or bandwidth. Look elsewhere for your web application response, protocol handshaking overhead and managing the dozens of separate files associated with modern web sites, processing javascript, rendering, etc.

 

[WallToWallMacs]

I have an 802.11ac router and I have tried an 802.11ac phone (Samsung S4) and to be perfectly blunt the performance just isn't there. I could understand the attraction of 802.11ac when it comes to moving large amounts of data around a network but it is doubtful that a smartphone needs that must bandwidth giving the limited amount of things you can do on a smart phone.

 

[BiggAW]

Right. This will basically be the biggest improvement to WiFi that the iPhone has ever seen.

Let's break this down for the less technically inclined here:

-The iPhone 4 added 802.11n with a MAX THEORETICAL bandwidth peak of 72Mbps(?) on the 2.4GHz range. In real life, with overhead and interference, throughput is actually way lower than that.
-The iPhone 5 added 5GHz 802.11n, with a MAX THEORETICAL peak of 150Mbps. But because of the limitations of 5GHz 802.11n, you basically have to be in the same room as the router to use this frequency, so in reality, still max 72Mbps theoretical peak.
-This new technology, on top of the other improvements MIMO brings, is upping us immediately to 802.11ac, which will get us much better range, 867Mbps theoretical peak, and 150Mbps theoretical peak on the 802.11n range.

This will improve both your range, Internet speeds, and web application response times. The why for those later two items can be saved for another day.

I thought N150 was the slowest N there is? It's 1x1, and then you go to 300 and 450 for 2x2 and 3x3, respectively.

 

[Curun]

I thought N150 was the slowest N there is? It's 1x1, and then you go to 300 and 450 for 2x2 and 3x3, respectively.

72mbps is single stream 20mhz wide 2.4ghz N. Often in cheapo laptops, and older mobile devices like, iPhone 4 and 4S.

Even iPhone 5 and 5S, single stream. On 2.4ghz runs 72mbps, on 5ghz runs 150mhz because can use the 40mhz wide channels.

 

[BiggAW]

72mbps is single stream 2.4ghz N. Often in cheapo laptops, and older mobile devices like, iPhone 4 and 4S.

Even iPhone 5 and 5S, single stream. On 2.4ghz runs 72mbps, on 5ghz runs 150mhz because can use the 40mhz wide channels.

N150 can be 2.4ghz-only.

 

[Curun]

N150 can be 2.4ghz-only.

Using a 40mhz wide channel..., which is non-standard cause it wipes out the spectrum.

 

[BiggAW]

Using a 40mhz wide channel..., which is non-standard cause it wipes out the spectrum.

Hmmm, ok, so then how would an older iPhone connect to a 40mhz wide network? 40mhz is not really accepted on the 2.4ghz spectrum, but it works well up at 5.8ghz...

 

[Curun]

Hmmm, ok, so then how would an older iPhone connect to a 40mhz wide network? 40mhz is not really accepted on the 2.4ghz spectrum, but it works well up at 5.8ghz...

It won't if it doesn't support it.

72mbps is slowest N.

 

[BiggAW]

It won't if it doesn't support it.

72mbps is slowest N.

Interesting. I didn't even know that because routers start at 150mhz...