Freescale is taking an early leadership position in the next-generation WLAN access point (AP) market by demonstrating one of the first production-ready solutions to support the emerging 802.11ac standard at this week’s Interop event in Las Vegas. Based on advanced QorIQ multicore processors, the new solutions are the result of collaboration between Freescale and its partners Accton, Senao and USI.

Freescale’s early momentum in the 802.11ac AP space follows strong market acceptance of the company’s QorIQ P1 processor family by top manufacturers of 802.11n enterprise AP equipment. The manufacturers choosing QorIQ processors to power current-generation WLAN products own more than 50 percent of the enterprise AP market. In addition, Freescale has already engaged with many top 802.11ac AP manufacturers.

“Freescale’s QorIQ processors have played a major role in the 802.11n AP market during its rapid growth in recent years,” said Bernd Lienhard, vice president and general manager of Freescale’s Networking Processor Division. “Growth rates for WLAN-enabled mobile devices are expected to rise across many segments, presenting significant opportunities for providers of highly advanced silicon solutions such as QorIQ P1 products.”

Demonstrations planned for Freescale’s meeting space in room Palm-G near the Mandalay Bay Hotel Ballroom include a next-generation WLAN AP design, as well as a Freescale customer’s production model 802.11ac AP based on a Freescale QorIQ P1 family device. The AP leverages the processor’s CAPWAP/DTLS protocol offload technology, which frees processor cycles for value added services.

Freescale’s comprehensive QorIQ WLAN portfolio is optimized for SoHo, SMB and enterprise 802.11n and 802.11ac applications. The QorIQ P1 processor family, which includes the P1010, P1020 and P1023 communications processors, offers extensive integration coupled with power-over-Ethernet-friendly performance per watt for a wide variety of WLAN applications. The series provides dual- and single-core solutions based on Power Architecture® technology for the 400 MHz to 1 GHz performance range, along with advanced security and cost-optimized packaging. The QorIQ P1 family is well-suited for next generation wireless LAN access points with a wide variety of core, frequency, price and interface options to suit the myriad WLAN solutions and differentiated services required by the market.

“We are extremely excited to debut our EAP8012FB 802.11ac AP system with Freescale at Interop,” said Tim Chen, senior marketing director for Accton Technology Corp. “Freescale’s QorIQ P1 family processors deliver the performance, integration and energy efficiency required to fulfill the exciting promise of 802.11ac technology.”

“Our 802.11ac AP based on Freescale’s P1 family processor technology reflects our deep experience in unleashing the ultra-high performance of QorIQ processors in our successful 802.11n systems,” said Richard Chang, associate vice president of Sales and Marketing, Senao Networks, Inc. “We look forward to extending this expertise as we develop and quickly deliver to market world-class 802.11ac APs based on highly advanced Freescale silicon solutions.”

“USI has a strong reputation for technology and design innovation in enterprise WLAN markets,” said James Lee, product marketing director of Mobility & Networking Solutions, USI Co. Ltd. “Leveraging our strong relationship with Freescale and the proven performance of its QorIQ solutions, we are moving quickly to gain early-market traction with our 802.11ac solution.”