Quantenna 1Gbps WiFi Chipset Promised For 2009

Startup wireless networking firm Quantenna are claiming to be able to dramatically increase WiFi throughput and signal coverage with their upcoming range of draft-N chips.  Taking advantage of existing aspects of the 802.11n specification that, the company suggests, are currently being under-appreciated, the Quantenna approach is to use multiple concurrent radio channels.  These can either double up on data transmission, increasing reliability and range, or be used discretely to layer transmissions up to the quoted 1Gbps rate.

Quantenna envisage their chipsets to be used primarily in the former mode in home environments, while enterprise settings – which could have many more, closely-spaced nodes – would default to the latter.  There are currently three chipsets in development, two single-band supporting either 2.4GHz (the QHS450) or 5GHz (the QHS600) with four radios each, and a simultaneous dual-band 2.4GHz/5GHz version with eight radios (the QHS1000).

While none will be available directly to the end consumer, Quantenna is suggesting OEM pricing of $20 for the single-band and $40 for the dual-band chipsets when bought in bulk.  While this is more than existing WiFi radios, Quantenna have also included extra functionality in the chipsets that would usual require further outlay (and bulk) for the OEM.

[via Gizmodo]