Detect, classify & mitigate network WiFi interference

As WiFi becomes the primary connectivity source in businesses, there is a growing demand for uptime and service level agreement guarantees for a range of enterprise demanding applications across every major industry. Broadcom's AIR-IQ technology combines the best of silicon and software to provide carriers with the ability to detect and mitigate interference to deliver an exceptional and reliable connectivity experience.  

"As more devices and applications compete for the same unlicensed spectrum, carriers need accurate information on all possible interferences in the network," said Ed Redmond, Vice President & General Manager, Compute and Connectivity, Broadcom. "AIR-IQ enables carriers and enterprises to identify issues, limit downtime and deliver the highest performance in the most complex WiFi networks."

AIR-IQ is built on Broadcom's Advanced Spectrum Capture Engine, that allows the chip to identify non-WiFi interference and adjust accordingly, delivering improved reliability and quality. AIR-IQ features interactive dashboards for measuring and reporting channel utilisation, detection and classification of RF interference as well as spectral maps for forensic capabilities. Record and play-back capabilities allow IT managers to monitor spectrum behavior 24x7 and allow easy troubleshooting and problem solving to reduce overall downtime. The solution also includes location capabilities for identifying and narrowing problem sources. 

"With the increase in the number of devices competing for the same spectrum and a world moving to user-centric mobile experiences, there is an added demand for IT managers to detect, classify and mitigate sources of interference in the fastest way possible to limit downtime and maximise the user experience," said Bob Friday, CTO & Co-Founder, MIST Systems. "Advanced solutions such as Broadcom's AIR-IQ meet these demands and are becoming a necessity in today's high density and mobile application intensity networks."

"The ubiquitous proliferation of handheld and laptop wireless devices has significantly taxed the ability of wireless networks to keep data speeds up," said Jason Leung, Senior Director, Product Management, Xirrus. "Technologies like Broadcom's powerful AIR-IQ algorithms and advancements in architecture have allowed Xirrus to bring Wave 2 access points to market. By using two 802.11ac radios, we can serve twice the number of concurrent users per access point while identifying and mitigating sources of Wi-Fi interference in overcrowded networks."