Qualcomm’s past history as a Wi-Fi skeptic is long forgotten, since it acquired Atheros and put Wi-Fi/cellular integration, and an expansion beyond handsets into the home, at the heart of its strategy. Now it is also seeking to drive and lead the Carrier Wi-Fi platforms, and its latest contribution is a technology it calls CnE (Connectivity Engine).
This will be baked into chips for carrier-grade Wi-Fi kit, and is the latest attempt to automate the choice of the best connection, when mobile users increasingly have a range of potential connections around them. It does this at silicon level, following a general trend ‘ a key element of the Intel/ARM battle ‘ to include more functionality, like security, on-chip rather than in higher level software.
CnE is compliant with key standards, Qualcomm insists, but goes beyond their functionality. It works both with the Wi-Fi Alliance’s Hotspot 2.0 and the 3GPP’s ANDSF (Access Network Discovery and Selection Function), but “goes beyond that by packing in many innovative algorithms’, says the chip supplier. The algorithms estimate the performance of each available connection and automatically selects the best link for the kind of application that the user is running. Its choice will take into account various criteria, including speed, signal quality, bandwidth available, latency and operator policies.
There are no availability dates but CnE is likely to appear in Snapdragon system-on-chip offerings next year, helping to boost the usability and functionality of Carrier Wi-Fi for handset users.