Broadcom announced its fourth wave of Wi-Fi 8 chips and an optimized 10G PON chip. The products are intended for service providers operating in hyper-competitive, average revenue per user (ARPU) constrained broadband markets.
The combination of 10G PON with Wi-Fi 8 is designed to support fiber-based connectivity at scale and provide a path to migrate from legacy copper and cable technologies. The latest expansion includes a value-focused residential Wi-Fi 8 and 10G PON gateway following earlier flagship platforms. The solutions aim to deliver improved reliability, higher capacity, lower latency, and higher throughput with cost structures associated with legacy technologies. The 10G PON interface serves as backhaul to support multi-gigabit performance.
Broadcom introduced three new products:
BCM68565 – Optimized PON Gateway SoC
The BCM68565 balances platform performance with system-level optimizations for Broadcom Wi-Fi 8 radios and the PON gateway SoC. It is designed for power, performance, and features in mass-market fiber deployments.
Key features:
- Integrated 10-Gbps Fiber WAN interface supporting XGSPON, GPON, and Active Ethernet modes
- High-performance CPU complex with support for open source middleware such as RDK and prplWare
- Dedicated network processing engine freeing the CPU for operator-specific applications
- Integrated multi-gigabit and gigabit Ethernet PHYs
- Versatile memory controller supporting DDR4, LPDDR4, DDR5, and LPDDR5
- Best-in-class security with dedicated security processor
BCM67142 & BCM67192 – Highly Integrated Dual-Band Wi-Fi 8 Radio
The BCM67142 and BCM67192 build on prior BCM6714 and BCM6719 chips. They integrate a hardware offload engine that works with the host CPU in the BCM68565. Both chips combine 2.4-GHz and 5-GHz radios into a single silicon piece to reduce footprint and BOM costs.
Key features:
- Integrated multi-chain 2.4-GHz and 5-GHz functionality
- On-chip 2.4-GHz power amplifiers (PAs) for reduced external components and improved RF efficiency
- Highly efficient integrated hardware offload engine
- Advanced eco-modes and power optimization for ultra-low energy consumption
- Third-generation digital pre-distortion that reduces peak power by 25%
“With our latest Wi-Fi 8 and PON products, Broadcom is making ‘Ultra-High Reliability’ accessible in hyper-competitive broadband markets,” said Mark Gonikberg, senior vice president and general manager of Broadcom’s Wireless and Broadband Communications Division. “The highly-optimized, single-chip dual-band radios and a cost-optimized PON SoC catalyze the adoption of Wi-Fi 8 in high-volume markets, ensuring faster, more reliable and affordable wireless broadband for the global consumer.”
The architecture optimizes CPU and memory resources between the broadband SoC and Wi-Fi chip. Integration of the 2.4-GHz and 5-GHz radios reduces bill of materials, simplifies board design, and lowers power consumption.
Broadcom is currently sampling the BCM68565, BCM67142, and BCM67192 to early access customers and partners.
