Broadcom has expanded its 5G WiFi portfolio with a line of 2x2 5G WiFi products for connected home devices, including PCs, tablets, set-top boxes, TVs, and retail routers. Broadcom's new 5G WiFi chips, including the BCM4350, BCM43556 and BCM43558, enable OEMs to develop a variety of devices in different form factors.

The new line of 2X2 multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) 5G WiFi solutions from Broadcom support the following features:

- Transmit beamforming and low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes for robust coverage in a connected home ecosystem, and support for beamformer and beamforming receiver
- 866 Mbps wireless local area network (WLAN) PHY rate - Broadcom proprietary TurboQAM for 33 percent increase in 2.4GHz speed
- Broadcom proprietary Channel Smoothing WLAN PHY to increase receiver sensitivity by an average of 2 db across 802.11n and 802.11ac rate

BCM4350 is a combo chip designed specifically for PCs, tablets and set-top boxes, and supports the following:

- PCIe and SDIO3.0 interfaces for low-power consumption PCs, tablets and set-top boxes
- Low-power modes to optimize battery life
- Support for Microsoft Windows and Android operating systems
- Integrated Bluetooth 4.0 for set-top boxes to assist in voice search, audio streaming and gestural remote control for navigation and gaming
- Multiscreen content sharing from mobile platforms directly to TV
- Whole-home DVR functionality, browsing, gaming and Over-The-Top (OTT) content services

BCM43556 (standalone 5G WiFi) and BCM43558 (combo with 5G WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0) are next generation chips designed for PCs, digital TVs and set-top boxes and feature the following:

- USB 3.0 support, plus power save modes to extend battery life
- Full compatibility with latest PC platforms, including Microsoft Windows 7 and Windows 8
- Interoperability with 5G WiFi-based routers and 5G WiFi-based digital TV platforms

Broadcom's new 5G WiFi solutions are now sampling, with full production expected in the second half of 2013.