Bluetooth looks to expand into the 6 GHz band

The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) kicked off a new specification development project to define the operation of Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) in additional unlicensed mid-band spectrum, including the 6 GHz frequency band. 

Bluetooth is the most widely deployed wireless standard in the world with over 5 billion products shipping each year.

“Over the last twenty years, Bluetooth technology has made our lives more productive, safer, healthier, and joyful,” said Mark Powell, CEO of the Bluetooth SIG. “The Bluetooth SIG community is constantly evolving the technology to meet ever expanding market demands for wireless communications. Expanding into the 6 GHz spectrum band will ensure the community can continue to make the enhancements necessary to pave the way for the next twenty years of Bluetooth innovation.”

“The global allocation of additional spectrum for unlicensed use is vital to ensuring that wireless technologies can continue to meet growing connectivity demands,” said Kevin Robinson, President and CEO of Wi-Fi Alliance. “Designating 6 GHz for unlicensed use creates a valuable spectrum resource that is recognized globally for its ability to bring tremendous socioeconomic benefits. Wi-Fi Alliance looks forward to collaborating with the Bluetooth SIG to ensure our successful co-existence in the band.”

https://bluetooth.com/specifications-in-development

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Amazon Sidewalk envisions a shared network for neighborhoods

 Amazon is advancing its plans for Sidewalk, a crowd-sourced network of consumer devices to be operated by Amazon at no charge to customers. The idea is to leverage the connectivity of devices throughout a neighborhood to help simplify new device setup, extend the low-bandwidth working range of devices, and help devices stay online even if they are outside the range of their home WiFi.

Amazon envisions that its network of Sidewalk-enabled devices could help its device users to find lost pets or valuables, to enable smart security and lighting, or to provide diagnostics for appliances and tools that lose their primary connectivity. Other applications for Sidewalk could include sensors for tracking packages, lost/stolen items, smart irrigation, etc 

The Amazon Sidewalk network will be enabled by customers with a Sidewalk Bridge, which is a capability that Amazon has already built into many existing Echo devices, Ring Floodlight Cams and Ring Spotlight Cams. The owners of these devices will be asked to contribute a small portion of their Internet bandwidth.  Amazon will then pool together this connectivity to create a shared network that benefits all Sidewalk-enabled devices in a community. Information traveling over the Sidewalk network will be encrypted. Amazon also promises to cap the maximum bandwidth used by a Sidewalk bridge owner.

Amazon Sidewalk uses Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), the 900 MHz spectrum and other frequencies to extend coverage.

Semtech confirmed that it is working with Amazon to bring its long-range, low power LoRa platform to the Sidewalk network.

Amazon is also working with Nordic Semiconductor, Silicon Labs and Texas Instruments to enable chip sets that will power new devices.

https://www.amazon.com/Amazon-Sidewalk/b/?node=21328123011

https://www.semtech.com/lora

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Qualcomm intros dual-MAC Wi-Fi chip for cars

Qualcomm introduced a Wi-Fi + Bluetooth 5.1 chip for automotive applications.

The dual-MAC Qualcomm Automotive Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth combination chip (QCA6595AU) is designed to deliver 1 Gbps performance. It is complementary to the Qualcomm Automotive Wi-Fi 6 dual-MAC chip (QCA6696), which can reach nearly 1.8 Gbps of throughput, as well as to the Wi-Fi 5 single MAC chip (QCA6574AU), which offers up to 867 Mbps of throughput. 

The QCA6595AU offers 2x2 multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) 5 GHz and 1x1 single-input, single-output (SISO) 2.4 GHz dual-band simultaneous (DBS) operation.  The combination of MIMO plus SISO can offer high-speed 5GHz Wi-Fi throughout the vehicle, while supporting legacy 2.4 GHz devices and high-quality Bluetooth.  Up to 32 clients can be connected with improved WPA3 protocols for increased security.

The QCA6595AU also supports high data rate Wi-Fi 5 connections to external access points for automotive services, such as vehicle diagnostics, software updates and automatic check-ins when pulling up to dealerships.  Bluetooth 5.1 includes support for Bluetooth Smart Long Range, Angle of Arrival (AoA) and Angle of Departure (AoD) for advanced device direction finding to achieve sub-meter relative location accuracy.  Additionally, when paired with Qualcomm® Snapdragon Automotive Cockpit Platforms or Qualcomm® Snapdragon Automotive Wireless Solutions, Qualcomm Technologies Wi-Fi chips benefit from Internet Protocol Acceleration (IPA) hardware, offloading the Snapdragon platform and solutions from Internet Protocol (IP) firewall and routing responsibilities for the Wi-Fi data path, allowing the processor to be available for other infotainment or telematics applications.

“With in-vehicle experiences advancing at a rapid rate for drivers and passengers, automakers expect robust, low-latency connectivity options beyond the premium segment,” said Nakul Duggal, senior vice president, product management, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. “As the automotive industry’s first MIMO and SISO Dual MAC Wi-Fi 5 combo solution, the QCA6595AU offers a great mix of features and performance, demonstrating Qualcomm Technologies’ commitment to offering the most complete portfolio of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth products to the automotive industry.”

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Bluetooth 5 Ready for Action - More Speed, Range

The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) officially adopted Bluetooth 5 as the latest version of the Bluetooth core specification, bringing longer range, faster speed, and larger broadcast message capacity, as well as improved interoperability and coexistence with other wireless technologies.

Key feature updates include four times range while maintaining the same power requirements, two times speed (upto 2 Mbps), and eight times broadcast message capacity. Longer range powers whole home and building coverage, for more robust and reliable connections. Higher speed enables more responsive, high-performance devices. Increased broadcast message size increases the data sent for improved and more context relevant solutions.

Bluetooth 5 also includes updates that help reduce potential interference with other wireless technologies to ensure Bluetooth devices can coexist within the increasingly complex global IoT environment. Bluetooth 5 delivers all of this while maintaining its low-energy functionality and flexibility for developers to meet the needs of their device or application.

“Bluetooth is revolutionizing how people experience the IoT. Bluetooth 5 continues to drive this revolution by delivering reliable IoT connections and mobilizing the adoption of beacons, which in turn will decrease connection barriers and enable a seamless IoT experience,” said Mark Powell, executive director of the Bluetooth SIG. “This means whole-home and building coverage, as well as new use cases for outdoor, industrial, and commercial applications will be a reality. With the launch of Bluetooth 5, we continue to evolve to meet the needs of IoT developers and consumers while staying true to what Bluetooth is at its core: the global wireless standard for simple, secure, connectivity.”

http://www.bluetooth.com/bluetooth5

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Mist Raises $28 Million for Cloud-enabled Wi-Fi + Bluetooth

Mist, a start-up based in Cupertino, California, raised $28 million in Series B funding for its smart wireless networking that integrates Wi-Fi and Bluetooth location services.

Mist said its platform lets you think centrally and act locally through a combination of cloud-based intelligence and on premises enterprise-grade Access Points. Machine learning automates key tasks like event correlation, location, and clustering to dramatically simplify wireless operations. The platform collects ongoing real-time state information from every mobile device on the network. It leverages virtual BLE (vBLE) beacons to eliminate the setup and management hassles of physical beacons.

Additional features:

• Real-time visibility into user Radio Frequency (RF) environment - “RF glasses” give administrators a real-time view of the RF environment from the mobile device’s perspective. If a wireless user complains about a Wi-Fi or BLE problem, the Mist platform can be used to easily visualize in real-time exactly what their wireless environment looks like for accurate troubleshooting.
• BLE Asset tracking – Mist is the first vendor to deliver deep analytics on both Wi-Fi and BLE using a single converged platform (Access Points and cloud). Administrators can easily track the average and maximum number of wireless users or BLE-enabled devices in a given location, the number of visits per zone, who is visiting each zone, and what the wireless experience was during each visit.
• BT11 Access Point – The Mist BT11 is an industry-first enterprise-grade Access Point for Bluetooth Low Energy (version 4.2). It has a 16 antenna element steerable directional antenna and one omni-directional element array for the highest location accuracy of any BLE AP on the market. In addition, the BT11 has a dedicated radio for collecting data and sharing it with the Mist cloud for detailed location analytics and high accuracy indoor location services (down to one-meter accuracy with sub-second latency).

The funding was led by GV (formerly Google Ventures), with additional funding from Lightspeed Venture Partners, Norwest Venture Partners, and Cisco Investments. With the latest round of financing, Karim Faris, General Partner at GV, has joined Mist’s Board of Directors.

“The latest round of financing will help us further our goal of delivering amazing Wi-Fi and Bluetooth experiences to the billions of people using smartphones, tablets and laptops,” said Sujai Hajela, CEO and co-founder of Mist. “At the same time, we are committed to simplifying wireless operations and lowering IT costs by being the first vendor to bring big data and machine learning at web scale to wireless networking.”

“Mist is addressing two of the biggest issues in mobility today: reliable Wi-Fi that is easy to operate at web scale, and accurate Bluetooth location services that are seamless to deploy in any environment,” said GV General Partner Karim Faris. “Mist’s cloud-based platform uses advanced machine learning to deliver unprecedented automation and insight. This means that organizations like corporations, hotels, stores, hospitals, and universities can interact with their mobile users in exciting new ways.”

http://www.mist.com

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Bluetooth 5 Promises 4X Range, 2X Speed

The next update to Bluetooth, which should arrive in late 2016 to early 2017, promises significantly increased range, speed, and broadcast messaging capacity.

Bluetooth 5 will quadruples range, doubles speed, and increases data broadcasting capacity by 800%, according to the Bluetooth Special Interest group. The increased data broadcast capacity will drive the adoption of Bluetooth-enabled beacons and location-based services in the home automation, enterprise, and industrial markets.

“Bluetooth 5 will transform the way people experience the IoT by making it something that happens simply and seamlessly around them,” said Mark Powell, executive director of the Bluetooth SIG. “Increasing operation range will enable connections to IoT devices that extend far beyond the walls of a typical home, while increasing speed supports faster data transfers and software updates for devices. And now with the ability to broadcast a much richer set of information, Bluetooth 5 will make beacons, location awareness, and other connectionless services an even more relevant part of an effortless and seamless IoT experience”

https://www.bluetooth.com

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Broadcom Intros Low-power Wi-Fi/Bluetooth Chip

Broadcom introduced its lowest power Wi-Fi/Bluetooth combo chip for mobile platforms and accessories, boasting up to 3X longer battery life compared to Broadcom's previous combo chips.

The company said its new BCM43012 chip allows OEMs to integrate Wi-Fi into platforms that have traditionally been powered by Bluetooth alone due to battery size or constrained power budgets.  In some applications, the BCM43012 Wi-Fi consumes 80 percent less power than the most common Bluetooth solutions today.

Features:

• Highly-integrated 28nm dual-band 802.11n and Bluetooth 4.2 SoC
• Integrated efficient power amplifiers (PAs), low noise amplifiers (LNAs), and power management unit (PMU) for low rest of bill of materials (RBOM) cost and small system footprint
• Architectural improvements provide unrivaled low power in sleep and active states for both Wi-Fi and BT
• Coexistence hardware and algorithms to ensure optimal Wi-Fi and BT performance
• WLAN features include enhanced proximity and location features enabled by 802.11mc and TurboQAM data rates up to 96 Mbps
• Bluetooth features include angle of arrival (AoA) and angle of departure (AoD) technology, wireless charging support for A4WP and AirFuel, and early adopter 2 Mbps Low Energy protocol capability

"For more than a decade, Broadcom has achieved a market leadership position in connectivity combos by setting the standard for performance, features, and power consumption," said Dino Bekis, Broadcom Vice President of Marketing, Wireless Connectivity Combos. "We have applied this expertise to launch a family of products for the promising mobile accessories markets with solutions that allow our customers to deliver a new generation of connected platforms with breakthrough capabilities."

http://www.broadcom.com

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ARM Acquires Two Bluetooth Companies

ARM announced the acquisitions of Wicentric, a Bluetooth Smart stack and profile provider, and Sunrise Micro Devices (SMD), a provider of sub-one volt Bluetooth radio intellectual property (IP).  Financial terms were not disclosed.

Wicentric is a privately held provider of Bluetooth Smart software solutions focused on enabling the development of low-power wireless products. Their product line includes Bluetooth protocol stack and profiles for creating interoperable smart products and the link layer for silicon integration.

SMD is a privately held provider of radio IP solutions including a pre-qualified, self-contained radio block and related firmware to simplify radio deployment. Central to all SMD radios is native sub-one volt operation. Operating below one volt enables the radio to run much longer on batteries or harvested energy.

ARM said it will incorporate the intellectual property of both companies into a new ARM Cordio portfolio. This portfolio will complement ARM’s existing processor and physical IP targeting end markets requiring low-power wireless communications such as the Internet of Things (IoT).

http://www.arm.com/about/newsroom/arm-announces-acquisition-of-wicentric-and-sunrise-micro-devices.php

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Qualcomm to Acquire CSR for Bluetooth Silicon

Qualcomm agreed to acquire CSR plc, a developer of connectivity, audio, imaging and location chips, for at approximately £1.6 billion (about $2.5 billion).

CSR's areas of expertise include silicon chips for voice & Music; Bluetooth Smart; Automotive Infotainment; Indoor Location\.

“The addition of CSR’s technology leadership in Bluetooth, Bluetooth Smart1 and audio processing will strengthen Qualcomm’s position in providing critical solutions that drive the rapid growth of the Internet of Everything, including business areas such as portable audio, automotive and wearable devices,” said Steve Mollenkopf, chief executive officer of Qualcomm Incorporated. “Combining CSR’s highly advanced offering of connectivity technologies with a strong track record of success in these areas will unlock new opportunities for growth. We look forward to working with the innovative CSR team globally and further strengthening our technology presence in Cambridge and the UK.”

http://www.qualcomm.com

• In September, CSR introduced dual mode Bluetooth 4.1 compliant chips designed for low latency and ultra low-power wireless gaming controllers.

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Broadcom Intros 3x3 MIMO 802.11ac Chip

Broadcom introduced two Wi-Fi system-on-a-chips (SoCs) for streaming HD-quality content, online gaming and other high-bandwidth applications in the home.

• The BCM43569 is a dual-band 2x2 MIMO combo chip (5G WiFi and Bluetooth 4.1) with a USB 3.0 interface and advanced coexistence technology that enables smart TVs to receive both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth signals simultaneously. The solution uses a separate Bluetooth low-noise amplifier (LNA) coupled with customized Wi-Fi and Bluetooth coexistence algorithms allow Bluetooth gaming, audio and motion peripherals to perform in challenging environments. Broadcom Media Stack (BMS) enables connectivity software features like TVSelect, audio over Wi-Fi, seamless gaming and Miracast for a rich DTV experience
  
• The BCM43602 is a 3x3 MIMO 802.11ac SoC solution that enables these platforms to offload Wi-Fi processing from the host processor. The solution boasts the ability to achieve full 802.11ac (900 Mbps TCP) throughput on CPU constrained systems.  The entire WLAN driver runs inside of the BCM43602, freeing up host CPU for applications such as video streaming. It is pin-compatible, drop in and full feature replacement to Broadcom's industry leading BCM4360, in production across multiple retail and service provider customers.

"As the first company to deliver 5G WiFi across all product segments, Broadcom continues to lead innovation and engineer even more powerful next-generation 5G WiFi products that support today's content-hungry consumer," said Rahul Patel, Vice President, Marketing, Wireless Connectivity Combos. "Our new advanced solutions bring consumers an elevated video streaming experience across the wirelessly connected home and provide OEMs with the benefits of improved system cost and form factor."

http://www.connectingeverything.com
http://www.broadcom.com

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Enabling Bluetooth for Smart Wireless Charging Stations

The Bluetooth SIG and Alliance for Wireless Power (A4WP) have set-up a formal liaison relationship to advance smart wireless charging station.

As a first step, the Bluetooth SIG has issued a Universally Unique Identifier (UUID) to the A4WP for adoption in its baseline system specification (BSS).  The A4WP BSS utilizes the Bluetooth Smart radio standard to carry the session management and power control between an A4WP charging station and an A4WP-certified device, e.g., smartphone.

The organizations said benefits of their collaboration include:

• Consumers will benefit from devices initiating a charge more quickly when coming into contact with charging surfaces
  
• Consumers will also see improved power control features such as giving one device prioritized charging when multiple devices are charging at the same time
  
• OEMs and developers will be able to create a new class of applications  to leverage these smart wireless charging stations (e.g., mobile payments, location based services)

"Bluetooth Smart is a foundation technology for the Alliance for Wireless Power," said Dr. Kamil A. Grajski, president of the A4WP.  "By combining Bluetooth Smart with magnetic resonant wireless power transfer technology, the A4WP delivers a next-generation user experience that features one charging station to many simultaneous devices, freedom of placement on tabletops, desktops and automotive environments, and charging solutions that scale seamlessly from wireless headsets to smartphones, to tablets and laptops."

http://www.a4wp.org/

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Broadcom's Bluetooth Smart SoC Targets Android Peripherals

Broadcom introduced a new Bluetooth Smart system-on-a-chip (SoC) designed to connect a broader range of low-cost, low-power peripherals to work with Android-based smartphones and tablets.

Broadcom's new BCM20732 Bluetooth Smart SoC seamlessly connects peripheral devices like heart rate monitors, pedometers, door locks, lighting, proximity alarms, etc. that are powered by coin cell batteries.  It is powered by an ARM Cortex M3.  Broadcom said its new SoC makes it possible to operate Bluetooth Smart-enabled products for more than one year without recharging the small batteries that power them.

Broadcom also announced the contribution of its Bluetooth software stack, including classic Bluetooth and Bluetooth Smart (formerly Bluetooth Low Energy) technology, to the Android Open Source Project (AOSP). The new Broadcom chip and contribution of its software will help drive proliferation of Bluetooth technology in the "Internet of Things" ecosystem. For more news, visit Broadcom's Newsroom.

"The integration of Bluetooth Smart into the Android community is a huge step forward for the 'Internet of Things'," said Brian Bedrosian, Broadcom's Senior Director, Embedded Wireless, Wireless Connectivity Combo Group. "Broadcom is committed to driving new standards of connectivity for OEMs by providing both software and hardware for simplified development of high-performance products. Adding direct support for Bluetooth Smart directly into the most widely used mobile OS will greatly expand the opportunities for users to easily monitor and control aspects of their health, fitness, and security for smartphones and tablets."

http://www.broadcom.com

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