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January 10, 2012

CES: Broadcom Bringing Connectivity to the Home, the Hand, and On the Go

As the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show gears up this week, there has been no shortage of ground-breaking news, especially on the connectivity front.

Today, Broadcom Corp., a global provider of semiconductor solutions for wired and wireless communications, introduced a lineup of innovations in connectivity technology, as well as new strategic partnerships and customer advantages that are all designed to address the continuous demand by consumers for access to content.

“The ability to seamlessly and instantaneously access content is the defining moment of a great consumer experience,” said Scott McGregor, Broadcom’s president and CEO, in a prepared statement. “At CES, Broadcom is showcasing an array of connectivity innovations that are powering many of the top products at CES and driving ever-more powerful consumer experiences.”

Broadcom’s new range of connectivity innovations are meant to be specifically used for connecting “in the home, in the hand, and on the go.” Let’s take a look at some of the connectivity innovations McGregor speaks of.

Connecting in the home

In order to offer capabilities for video and Internet delivery in residences, Broadcom has not left anything out, from the introduction of its integrated MoCA 2.0 portfolio, which is a complete line-up of set-top box platform solutions, to its validation, along with Qualcomm Atheros, of the HomePlug AV Powerline Performance for support of demanding home networking applications.

Prior to CES, as part of its “Connecting the Home” portfolio, Broadcom also launched its over-the-top media players that are capable of transforming today’s digital TVs into “smart TVs.” Other “Home” announcements include:

  • The integration of Comcast’s new reference design kit in order to accelerative set-top box development; 
  • The integration of Sling Media’s SDK into Broadcom’s latest set-top-box system-on-a-chip platforms in order to enable consumers to access TV content wherever they want and on any device with an Internet connection;
  • LG Electronics’ adoption of Broadcom’s Bluetooth products for game-enabled TVs and remote controls;
  • And the development of a Wi-Fi-enabled consumer electronics built specifically for the Chinese market.


Connecting in the hand

In order to address a widespread push for digital content use on smartphones and tablets, Broadcom brought to market this week its first family of 802.11ac chips, which is based on the 5th generation of Wi-Fi, or 5G Wi-Fi. The chips, designed for a broad range of product segments, will allow consumers to view HD-quality video from more devices, and more places. In addition, Broadcom unveiled its 1 GHz 3G baseband and reference design for more affordable smartphones, as well as a cross-platform Wi-Fi display solution to give consumers another screen-view option for accessing content on mobile devices.

Connecting on the go

Last but not least, Broadcom broke into the automotive sector this week by showcasing its BroadR-Reach automotive lineup of Ethernet products. These solutions enable multiple in-vehicle systems, like infotainment and automated drive assistance, to concurrently retrieve information over a single twisted pair cable. Broadcom’s BroadR-Reach portfolio will help automotive manufacturers diminish connectivity costs and cabling weight associated with intrinsic cabling, and will broaden the availability of these features.

Stay tuned to MobilityTechzone for the latest on other ground-breaking news to come out of this week’s CES.

Want to learn more about 4G wireless technologies? Then be sure to attend the 4GWE Conference, collocated with TMC’s ITEXPO East 2012 taking place Jan. 31-Feb. 3 2012, in Miami, FL. Co-sponsored by TMC Partner Crossfire Media, the 4GWE Conference provides unmatched networking opportunities and a robust conference program representing the wireless ecosystem. The conference not only brings together the best and brightest in the wireless industry, it actually spans the communications and technology industry. For more information on registering for the 4GWE Conference click here.

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Tammy Wolf is a MobilityTechzone web editor. She covers a wide range of topics, including IP communications and information technology. To read more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.

Edited by Jennifer Russell



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