Atheros：5GHz和60GHz谁是未来Wi-Fi主流？

高通Atheros的顶级技术专家对Wi-Fi的未来做出了猜想，并在简要分析了Windows 8系统使用ARM处理器的前景。 新兴的IEEE 802.11ac标准，在5GHz的频率下提供千兆每秒的速度，代表了未来Wi-Fi的主流，高通公司Wi-Fi部门蜂窝通信芯片技术副总裁William McFarland表示。 802.11ad 60GHz的标准，将对802.11ac起到一定的补充作用，更长远的未来发展目前还不清楚，他说。 除了.11ac和.11ad采用的标准，“目前我们还没有太多现成的无线设计工具”，McFarland说, “我们还没有实现多址OFDMA技术或者多用户上行，这很难做到。”他补充说。 5GHz 802.11ac和60GHz 802.11ad标准的芯片样本，应该可以在今年年底出片，对应的系统产品预计明年年底上市。 802.11ac标准采用5GHz的多用户MIMO和256 QAM。该技术可以帮助它在现有Wi-Fi发射范围内，使用80MHz带宽和至少有三个天线的条件下，达到千兆每秒的速度时，。 “这将是一个大的噱头 - 我们将会全力打造它，”McFarland说。 60GHz 802.11ad标准可以支持高达7Gbits/s甚至更宽的通道，但由于60GHz的信号传播困难，只能被限制在一个房间内使用。 802.11ac产品最终将取代802.11n产品。他说，而60GHz的产品则将开辟新的应用，例如在一个房间里的高速视频传输。 “我们觉得这两个系统有很大的不同，并没有真正相互竞争，”他补充说。最终，许多模块将同时支持这两种标准。 一月份的ISSCC会议上，工程师们对5GHz和60GHz的优缺点展开了辩论。一些代表指出，中国没有802.11ac 5GHz所需要的80MHz频段用于传输千兆数据。 此外，McFarland 表示，高通公司已经领先其他公司推出了支持Windows 8的ARM处理器产品。 McFarland说，“高通用了"大量的团队"，以支持它的Snapdragon处理器和Windows 8”。Windows 8运行在ARM上，我们是绝对领先的。 “最早一款基于Windows的ARM平台，将是Snapdragon。”他说。 微软说，将有四个版本的Windows 8出现，分别对应高通的Snapdragon，X86，NVIDIA的Tegra和德州仪器的OMAP处理器。最初基于ARM的系统预计将主要是平板电脑，虽然有些人也可能会把它用在笔记本电脑上。 高通“希望随着时间的推移，我们能供应基于这些平台的所有芯片，甚至显示方面也是，” McFarland说，暗指该公司的Mirasol组。 “目前的重点是基础供应，但我们正在致力于开发更好的一揽子解决方案，”McFarland说。 “一旦成功，我们可以涉足更广泛的平台。” Atheros公司长期以来一直为PC制造商提供Wi-Fi芯片，手机芯片制造商会成为他们的一个新客户群。 编译：Luffy Liu 本文授权编译自EE Times,版权所有，谢绝转载 参考英文原文：Atheros: 5, not 60 GHz is real future of Wi-Fi，by Rick Merritt

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{pagination} Atheros: 5, not 60 GHz is real future of Wi-Fi Rick Merritt SAN JOSE, Calif. – The top technologist of Qualcomm Atheros scoped out the future of Wi-Fi and gave comments on the outlook for Windows 8 systems using ARM processors at a briefing here. The emerging IEEE 802.11ac standard for delivering gigabit/speeds over 5 GHz represents the future of mainstream Wi-Fi, said William McFarland, vice president of technology for the Wi-Fi division of the cellular chip maker. The .11ad 60 GHz standard will play a complementary but more limited role, and beyond that the future is unclear, he said. "There are not too many [wireless design tools] left on the table" beyond what the .11ac and .11ad standards are adopting, McFarland said. "We haven't implemented multiple-access OFDMA or multi-user uplink yet, but that's very difficult to do," he added. Sample chips for the 5 GHz 802.11ac and the 60 GHz 802.11ad standards should emerge late this year with systems products following late next year. The .11ac standard adopts multiuser MIMO and 256 QAM over 5 GHz. The techniques help it deliver Gbit/s speeds over existing Wi-Fi ranges when using 80 MHz of bandwidth and at least three antennas. "It will be a big splash--we will make it a big splash," said McFarland. The 60 GHz .11ad standard could support up to 7 Gbits/s thanks to even wider channels, but will be limited to use within a room due to difficulty of propagating the 60 GHz signals. The .11ac products will eventually replace .11n products. The 60 GHz products will open up new applications such as high-speed video transfers within a room, he said. "We feel the two systems are quite different and not really competitive with each other," he added. Ultimately, many modules will support both standards, he said. At ISSCC in January, engineers debated the relative merits of the 5 and 60 GHz approaches. Some noted China does not have the 80 MHz bands at 5 GHz needed to deliver the .11ac Gbit/s rates. Separately, McFarland said Qualcomm is ahead of the pack of companies supporting Microsoft's Windows 8 on ARM processors. The company created "a substantial team" to support Windows 8 on its Snapdragon processors and "is very much in the lead for getting Windows 8 running on top of ARM," McFarland said. "One of the first platforms for big Windows on ARM will be Snapdragon," he said. Microsoft is said to be working on four versions of Windows 8--one each for the x86, Snapdragon, Nvidia's Tegra and Texas Instruments' Omap processor. The initial ARM-based systems are expected to be mainly tablets, although some may deliver notebooks as well. Qualcomm "wants to supply all the silicon in one of those platforms over time even the display," said McFarland, pointing to the company's Mirasol group. "Today the focus is just getting out a basic offering, but we are working on getting this bundle put together in a nicer way," McFarland said. "Once that’s in control, we can look more broadly at ways to differentiate platforms," he added. Atheros has long been supplying Wi-Fi chips to PC makers, a new customer base for the cellular chip maker.