By Drew FitzGerald
Buried behind the massive screen and eye-grabbing software on
Samsung Electronics Co.'s (SSNHY, 005930.SE) latest smartphone lies
a more mundane improvement that smartphone owners use almost all
the time: faster Wi-Fi.
The new wireless standard, called 802.11ac, earned only passing
mention Thursday at the unveiling of Samsung's Galaxy S4--company
representatives spent more time showing off the handset's flashier
features, such as eye-tracking technology and a 13-megapixel
camera--yet the latest Wi-Fi will offer consumers a taste of new
technology that's almost certain to pop up in more smartphones this
year.
With speeds as fast as 1.3 gigabits per second in some settings,
the new Wi-Fi standard can download information three times faster
than handsets available today can. Most wireless chips now entering
the market won't reach that theoretical limit, though devices using
the technology will still be able to stream high-definition video
in real time, according to chip maker Broadcom Corp. (BRCM).
Other hurdles exist in the adoption of the new Wi-Fi, such as
smartphone users needing to upgrade their home routers. Also, the
new Wi-Fi uses a higher frequency that doesn't travel as far, so
the technology's backers tend to tout the standard for the living
room and other intimate settings where data takes a shorter trip,
rather than in more public areas.
On the plus side, the new Wi-Fi sits on a less-crowded slice of
the wireless spectrum, avoiding interference from devices like
Bluetooth headsets and microwave ovens that share space with
existing Wi-Fi devices. Some devices with more than one antenna
also can transmit legacy Wi-Fi data in a separate stream--allowing
a smartphone user to stream video to a TV screen a few feet away
while simultaneously downloading music from the Internet, for
instance.
The new standard "addresses a lot of issues, mainly on the
infrastructure side," Wunderlich Securities analyst William
Harrison said. "Basically, the amount of data traversing through
the home today is taxing prior generations" of equipment.
Wireless service providers continue to invest billions of
dollars to upgrade their cellular networks, yet their customers
still rely on Wi-Fi to move big chunks of information that cellular
networks are too crowded to handle. The average consumer moves
about 55 megabytes of data over Wi-Fi each day, more than four
times the amount carried by cellular networks, according to a
recent report from Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO). If not for Wi-Fi,
users would simply download less content because of clogged
cellular service and the caps and cost on its usage.
HTC Corp. (HTCXF, 2498.TW) introduced the new Wi-Fi standard to
the mobile market last month when it unveiled its flagship HTC One,
another smartphone that uses Google Inc.'s (GOOG) Android operating
system.
Broadcom, which supplied the One's wireless chip, gave the
technology a consumer-friendly "5G" moniker--playing off the 4G
cellular standard supplied by most phone carriers.
Most network gear makers already offer routers with 5G Wi-Fi,
and a new laptop from Asustek Computer Inc. (ASUUY, 2357.TW)
supports the standard.
Bob Rango, general manager of Broadcom's mobile and wireless
group, declined to say whether Broadcom supplied Samsung's newest
Galaxy phone, though he said the new Wi-Fi standard is spreading
more quickly among manufacturers than its main predecessor,
802.11n.
"It shows that one of the world's premier superphones sees the
value of this new standard," he said.
Write to Drew FitzGerald at andrew.fitzgerald@dowjones.com
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