Broadcom Announces Immediate Support for the New QZSS Satellites Launched by Japan

This built-in support will result in several GPS performance benefits, including improved urban canyon navigation in major cities such as Tokyo and availability of position fixes in more areas than competitive solutions.

Highlights/Key Facts:

* The foundation of the Japanese Quasi-Zenith Satellite System has just been established with the launch of a new navigation satellite named Michibiki. This is the first of three satellites in this new constellation. The QZSS satellites are meant to provide refined navigation capabilities over existing systems.
* The QZSS satellites require a new set of pseudo random number (PRN) codes, support for which is already built into the BCM4751.
* Broadcom is working closely with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to test reception of live QZSS signals and codes as they become available using the BCM4751.
* The Broadcom BCM4751 is a single-chip GPS receiver used for tracking and navigation, primarily in mobile devices. Its massively parallel, hardware correlator architecture provides faster signal searches, accurate real-time navigation, improved tracking sensitivity and very low average power consumption. The sensitivity and navigation performance of the BCM4751 continue to set the standard for the industry.
* Key features of the Broadcom BCM4751 GPS receiver include:
o 65 nanometer CMOS design featuring a highly integrated radio frequency (RF) and baseband processor with extremely low power consumption.
o The smallest complete PCB footprint: 30 mm(2) including band-pass filter, TCXO and passives.
o High sensitivity operation.
o Increased satellite availability: supports GPS, SBAS and QZSS satellites at L1 frequency band.
o Integrated power management allowing direct connection to the battery.
o Available in both wafer level ball grid array (WLBGA) and fine pitch ball grid array (FPBGA) packages.

Supporting Quotes:

Koji Terata, Project Manager QZSS, JAXA

JAXA innovations are driving improved user experience of advanced navigation products. For that reason, JAXA is excited to work with Broadcom to be among the first companies to demonstrate the significant performance benefits of adding the Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), including aiding in urban canyon navigation, providing a straighter, more accurate and reliable navigation solution, as well as position fixes in more areas.

Scott Pomerantz, Vice President & General Manager, Broadcom's GPS line of business

We are pleased to announce our support of Japan's QZSS satellite system which will improve the accuracy and availability of satellite navigation services. The BCM4751 already sets new standards in performance and low power consumption with state-of-the-art sensitivity and navigation performance and our support for QZSS only accelerates our customers' ability to realize the additional performance benefits provided by this exciting new system.