Broadcom, AirTies collaborate on Wi-Fi 6
December 20, 2018
Ahead of CES 2019, AirTies, a provider of managed in-home Wi-Fi solutions to global service providers, has announced a strategic collaboration with Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ: AVGO), a global leader in high performance Wi-Fi solutions for home networking. Specifically, AirTies’ Smart Wi-Fi software will be pre-integrated into Broadcom’s Wi-Fi 6 drivers, making it easier for operators to bring AirTies’ solutions to third-party gateways. In addition, AirTies will use Broadcom’s Wi-Fi 6 chipsets in a new class of Mesh extenders to be offered in 2019.
Wi-Fi 6 is expected to bring increased speed and capacity than the previous generation of Wi-Fi (802.11ac). It will also more efficiently support the increasing density of devices in the connected home with lower latency and enhanced battery life. Coupled with AirTies’ Smart Wi-Fi software and cloud-based management software, operators can maximize and extend the capabilities of Broadcom’s Wi-Fi 6 solutions.
AirTies’ Smart Wi-Fi software is designed to help operators upgrade in-home Wi-Fi performance and coverage, proactively fix and monitor Wi-Fi issues, and improve overall customer satisfaction. The software intelligently directs consumers’ devices to the best available channel and band (2.4GHz and 5GHz), based on real-time home network conditions to improve performance. It also enables gateways to serve as the Wi-Fi Mesh controller, lowering equipment investments for operators by reducing the number of extenders required.
Broadcom’s Wi-Fi 6 chipsets will also be integrated with access to AirTies’ Remote Manager, a cloud-based optimization suite that provides real-time visibility and historical performance analysis to manage the consumer Wi-Fi experience. This capability is key to get the best performance out of new Wi-Fi 6 devices because older legacy Wi-Fi devices remain in homes for many years. Service providers must be able to optimize performance based on the actual capabilities of their subscribers’ various devices. For example, based on real-world analysis from millions of households, AirTies disclosed data earlier this summer that found 51.3% of devices in the home still use old 802.11n technology. For legacy and new Wi-Fi 6 devices, AirTies Remote Manager maximizes responsiveness and performance by leveraging both cloud-based and localized network intelligence.
“Our newest strategic effort with Broadcom will make it easier for operators to adopt Broadcom’s Wi-Fi 6 chipsets to have access to our industry-leading Smart Wi-Fi software and in-home management software platform,” said Oz Yildirim, CMO of AirTies. “We look forward to enabling service providers to leverage our software on third-party gateways and to bringing our own Wi-Fi 6 Mesh extenders to market in 2019. Powered by Broadcom’s latest 4×4 Wi-Fi 6 chipsets, these new extenders will continue our legacy of designing the kind of elegant and compact products that both operators and consumers demand.”
“Wi-Fi 6 is the next great advancement in the evolution of Wi-Fi technology, and we are excited about its potential for broadband service providers around the globe,” said Gregory Fischer, senior vice president and general manager, Broadband Carrier Access, Broadcom. “AirTies is a proven global leader in managed Wi-Fi software solutions, and the powerful combination of Broadcom’s Wi-Fi 6 and AirTies’ Smart Wi-Fi software will enable operators to serve the super connected homes of today and tomorrow.”