Broadcom Unveils First Femtocell Chip To Integrate RF And Baseband Modem

As on-the-go content consumption continues to drive traffic growth, mobile operators must meet consumers' increasing demand for higher bandwidth without sacrificing quality of service, said Greg Fischer, Broadcom's Vice President and General Manager for Broadband Carrier Access. Broadcom's BCM61630 SoCs deliver a low-power, cost-efficient device for residential small cells to leverage existing mobile infrastructure and deliver faster data speeds through a smaller form factor.

The new devices further integrate a multiband CMOS RF transceiver with GPS and full time sniffing capability while maintaining software compatibility with all previous Broadcom WCDMA physical layer and backhauling interface architectures. Embedding a high speed CPU and Broadcom's field-proven Layer 1 modem and peripherals, these devices provide a complete low power single chip solution for residential and small enterprise 3G small cell deployments.

Key Features of the BCM61630

•Highly integrated CMOS device
•Second generation in Broadcom's line of WCDMA femtocell access point SoCs
•High HSPA data rates with maximum throughput at up to 21.6 Mbps
•Advanced SON and sniffing capabilities without addition of external components
•Highly integrated multiband RF and soft GPS receiver enable ultra-low power3 and lowest cost bill of materials
•USIM Interface

Volume production for the BCM61630 is slated for 1H 2013.