In what has been otherwise a mostly all G.hn news week in home networking, Broadcom made what may be the week’s most important announcement because its new SoCs include the very latest version of HomePlug ‘ AV2 with full MIMO ‘ and the new 11ac version of Wi-Fi. Both technologies are faster and cover more of the home than their prior versions. Broadcom, which apparently has taken the lead in 11ac as measured by number of boxes announced, seems intent to do the same in HomePlug.
Its new SoCs, models BCM60500 with MIMO and BCM60333 without MIMO mean that equipment makers will be able to produce one box that has in it the new AV2 version of HomePlug and the new 11ac version of Wi-Fi. What else could a consumer or service provider want? Any residence that needs or wants a wireline network wants Wi-Fi. In fact, every home needs Wi-Fi if for no other reason than connecting tablets and smartphones, which do not have built-in wireline network connectors. Yet many consumers have difficulty getting home-wide Wi-Fi. With the combined AV2/11ac boxes, consumers get a wireline backbone plus the very fastest Wi-Fi.
Broadcom said the SoCs provide ‘an all-in-one connection solution’ in power line adapters and routers or can be used in end-user devices such as STBs, smart TV adapters and such.
Broadcom said it is also the first to have HomePlug AV2 SoCs with MIMO, which can provide speeds of up to 1.5 Gbps ‘ about three times faster than the prior generation HomePlug AV chips that it, Qualcomm Atheros and Sigma Designs have been producing.
The 1.5 Gbps speed is faster than the speeds that G.hn chipmakers are claiming for the powerline version of their technology ‘ although claimed and actual speeds often vary a great deal when products are installed in homes.
The faster AV2 speeds occur because AV2 uses a frequency band of up to 86MHz, while the HomePlug AV was limited to 30MHz. HomePlug AV2 can also support MIMO, which in homes with three-wire electrical systems can provide higher speeds, greater speed consistency and coverage of more AC outlets in the home.
Here’s the kicker. Broadcom’s new SoCs have the IEEE 1905.1 technology, which allows for easier installation and synching of multiple network technologies. Broadcom said P1905, newly re-branded as nVoy, allows single push-button operation for security integration, automatic configuration of Wi-Fi security keys over powerlines and network topology discovery. G.hn is not currently included in the P1905 specification although HomeGrid says it is working toward that.
Broadcom said the SoCs support both 750 Mbps and 1.5 Gbps PHY rates for backward compatibility with existing AV devices.
Broadcom said it’s currently sampling both BCM60500 and BCM60333 SoCs to equipment makers and so consumers can expect networking devices with them by year-end. we expect two or more box makers to announce shortly that they will use the chip
We wonder why Qualcomm Atheros has not yet announced similar SoCs. It makes HomePlug chips as a result of acquiring Intellon which originally developed the technology, and is a major maker of Wi-Fi chips including those to the new 11ac spec. We asked Qualcomm Atheros about the matter but have not yet received a response.
The Broadcom announcement is a warning shot to G.hn backers that Broadcom intends to compete against them head-to-head for every order. Broadcom evidently believes that the AV2 version of HomePlug can outperform the wireline version of G.hn and that having the 11ac version of Wi-Fi integrated into the SoCs gives it a major advantage with service providers and at retail.
One other point is that Broadcom has P1905 compliant technology in its SoCs now, something the G.hn crowd is only recently addressing. It’s also seems clear that Broadcom is likely to continue to fight against G.hn being included in the P1905 specification.