In its third new semiconductor product launch since April, Qualcomm Inc. today introduced a set of wireless networking chips to enable multigigabit wireless connections for mobile devices and routers.

Current wireless devices transmit data over the 2.4-gigahertz and 5-gigahertz bands of the radio spectrum. This year, the U.S. government made 6G available as well, more than tripling the so-called airwave space usable for Wi-Fi connections.

That means devices can transmit data over more parts of the spectrum at once and thereby provide better speeds. They can also benefit from lower interference, since most other Wi-Fi connections still use the existing bands.

The official industry term for this new wave of wireless systems is Wi-Fi 6E. Qualcomm’s new Wi-FI 6E chips are organized into two product families. One will ship with next-generation mobile devices, while the other is set to power Wi-Fi routers.

The mobile chips, the FastConnect 6700 and FastConnect 6900, will offer top theoretical connection speeds of 3 gigabits per second and 3.6 gigabits per second, respectively. Qualcomm typically integrates FastConnect chips with its Snapdragon processors, which power many high-end and midrange Android phones including the Samsung Galaxy S20. The company is targeting general availability for the second half of the year, meaning the first wave of Wi-Fi 6E phones offering 3-gigabit-plus theoretical wireless speeds could arrive before 2021.

The other products announced today are four Networking Pro chips for routers. They offer connection speeds ranging from 5.4 gigabits per second to 10.8 gigabytes per second. The chips are available immediately.

According to Qualcomm, the extra bandwidth will be particularly handy for so-called mesh routers. Mesh routers are a popular type of wireless system deployed in clusters that essentially serve as relays, catching signals which normally wouldn’t be captured by a user’s modem to improve coverage. Qualcomm said its new Networking Pro chips enable mesh routers to use 6G to handle communications among themselves and free up 5G band for users’ Wi-Fi traffic.

The router and mobile chips address a shared set of use cases. Video streaming services, for instance, can harness faster wireless connections to provide a smoother viewing experience, while augmented reality apps, team collaboration tools and many other types of applications stand to benefit as well.

Today’s announcement marks the third product launch for Qualcomm since April. It previously introduced a 5G-compatible Snapdragon processor for midrange phones and a tiny 10-by-10-millimeter modem for small connected devices such as industrial sensors.

Photo: Qualcomm