AirTies and Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) are collaborating on managed WiFi mesh systems for service providers worldwide. Managed WiFi mesh networks use a gateway/router and multiple access points (APs) to improve whole-home Internet coverage and provide performance monitoring capabilities.
"Operators around the world are rethinking their approach to in-home WiFi, and many are looking to mesh networking as their future," said Gregory Fischer, senior vice president and general manager, Broadband Carrier Access, Broadcom. "As a pioneer of advanced WiFi solutions to leading broadband operators around the globe, we're proud to work with AirTies on a collaborative roadmap that brings our joint abilities to this growing market. Broadcom is committed to helping service providers deliver the best in-home WiFi experiences possible."
Moving forward, AirTies' WiFi Mesh compatibility will be a default feature in all of Broadcom's wireless platforms like router, DSL, GPON, DOCSIS and video decoding CPE platforms (i.e., residential gateways or set-top boxes) as part of the new WiFi driver software available expected to be available later this month. AirTies' software is designed to turn residential gateways and wireless set-top boxes into an additional mesh WiFi access point.
For homes requiring additional APs, AirTies supplies dual band concurrent APs built on various Broadcom chipsets/CPUs (the BCM4366E, BCM4360, BCM43217, and BCM47081). These APs include Client and Band Steering technology to ensure devices always connect to the best available AP and frequency band (2.4 GHz or 5 GHz) based on real-time network usage. The APs also provide channel management to improve performance in high interference WiFi environments. Operators can also use AirTies' Remote View software, a cloud-based performance monitoring platform for field support and network engineering teams.
"It's clear to AirTies and Broadcom that consumers have rising expectations for fast and consistent Internet performance throughout every corner of their homes, on all of their devices - and they expect their service providers to deliver," said Philippe Alcaras, CEO of AirTies. "Broadcom is a recognized world leader in WiFi chipsets and technology, and by teaming up for the long run, we can help operators seize new opportunities to improve customer satisfaction, drive incremental revenue, and differentiate with new classes of premium WiFi services, with the guarantee of integrating all critical innovation in the future."