Broadcom has released a new radio digital front-end (DFE) system-on-chip (SoC) device, which it claimed paves the way for 6G wireless infrastructure.

Named BroadPeak, the chip reportedly delivers up to 40% power reduction over existing solutions for massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) and radio head (RRH) applications, with a wider operating frequency range from 400 MHz to 8.5 GHz. The hardware also meets 5G-Advanced technical requirements in the higher-frequency n104 band (6.425–7.125 GHz), alongside 6G in the upper mid-band (7–8.5 GHz).

At its core, the BCM85021 chip integrates 5-nanometer complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) decision feedback equalizer (DFE) and analog-to-digital/digital-to-analog (ADC/DAC) blocks onto a single die.

The release was co-developed using field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) from Intel spin-out Altera, alongside engineering work from Hitachi GlobalLogic.

BroadPeak follows the recent expansion of Broadcom's "Wi-Fi 8-ready" silicon line, which saw the release of the BCM49438 accelerated processing unit (APU) and the Trident X3+ BCM56390 Ethernet switch, with its capacity for 48 multigigabit ports making the switch suitable for high-density Wi-Fi 8 deployments.

Vijay Janapaty, VP and GM of Broadcom’s Physical Layer Products Division, commented: “With 5G New Radio expanding into the 6 GHz spectrum and above to fuel the surge of AI and data-heavy applications, the infrastructure behind it must evolve. Our next-generation Massive MIMO SoCs are engineered to deliver the uncompromising linearity and power efficiency required to power the future of connectivity."

"As RAN evolution demands greater intelligence, production-grade software is now as vital as the underlying silicon," added Siba Satapathy, chief growth & transformation officer, Hitachi GlobalLogic. "By co-developing the BroadPeak SDK with Broadcom, Hitachi GlobalLogic is simplifying hardware complexity and exposing advanced DFE capabilities. We are ensuring that next-gen mMIMO, RRH, and open radio access network (RAN) architectures are not just innovative, but deployment-ready at scale."

“As mobile networks advance toward 5G Advanced and 6G, the industry requires deep, open, and highly optimized partnerships across silicon platforms,” said Raghib Hussain, president and CEO of Altera. “Our collaboration with Broadcom and the successful interoperability testing between Altera Agilex 7 FPGAs and Broadcom BroadPeak SoCs validate a scalable, high-performance foundation for next-generation radio platforms, enabling equipment manufacturers and operators to innovate with flexibility and confidence.”