Wednesday, April 10, 2019

Aquantia and Qualcomm collaborate on 5G fixed CPE

Aquantia is collaborating Qualcomm Technologies on next-generation 5G NR fixed wireless access broadband equipment for high-speed Internet delivery to the customer premises.

The consumer premises equipment (CPE) platform will feature the Aquantia AQtion Multi-Gig Ethernet Controllers AQC107 (10GbE) and AQC111C (5GbE), which can be used in conjunction with the Qualcomm Snapdragon X55 5G modem available from Qualcomm Technologies.

The companies expect the first deployment in the United States in the first half of 2020. Aquantia has supplied samples of the reference design to early customers.


The Aquantia AQtion AQC107 is a high-performance, 5-speed, 10 G PCI Express (PCIe)–to–Multi-Gig Ethernet controller that integrates PCIe, MAC, and PHY to provide power and space-efficient connectivity for client systems. An x4/x2/x1 PCIe interface enables the AQC107 to easily handle up to 10Gbps line-rate performance while delivering maximum flexibility. The AQrate PHY technology integrated into the AQC107 delivers up to 10 Gbps network connectivity speed through 100 m of Cat 6a and up to 5 Gbps network connectivity speed on legacy Cat 5e or Cat 6 cabling.

The Aquantia AQtion AQC111C is a high-performance, Multi-Gig Ethernet controllers housed in a compact 9 x 9 mm package. Its ultra-small footprint and low-cost design makes it the perfect solution for embedded platforms as well as other PCIe LAN on Motherboard (LOM) implementations. By offering Multi-Gig Ethernet speeds of up to 5 and 2.5 GbE, Aquantia AQtion AQC111C offers flexible design options for a variety of networked devices including OEMs of consumer premises equipments, PCs and any device using a motherboards which to offer a seamless, Multi-Gig upgrade path.

“For more than 30 years, Qualcomm has provided foundational wireless technologies that help to transform industries. We are continuing that legacy by providing a robust platform designed to support seamless 5G connectivity in the connected home and enterprises, powered by our second generation Snapdragon X55 5G modem with support for both mmWave and sub-6 GHz spectrum bands,” said, Gautam Sheoran, Senior Director, Product Management, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. “We are excited to work with Aquantia, as the use of our 5G connectivity platform with their Multi-Gig wired backhaul in the connected home and enterprises can help support the growth of connected devices and provide unsurpassed user experience.”

“Aquantia is very pleased to work with Qualcomm Technologies on this new class of service provider access device,” said LK Bhupathi, Vice President of Marketing at Aquantia. “Use of the Snapdragon X55 5G modem with Aquantia’s Multi-Gig wired backhaul has the potential to create new business models beyond what has traditionally been offered by Internet service providers. More importantly it can also spur the delivery of rich content services such as ultra-high definition video streaming, cloud gaming and virtual reality.”