The first day of the Taipei Computer Show this year, Aquantia, a multi-gig technology leader, officially released Two Multi-Gig USB NIC chips AQtion AQC111U and AQtion AQC112U.
The AQtion AQC111U and AQtion AQC112U are two models that convert a USB interface to a Multi-Gig Ethernet controller IC for use with third-party USB v3.1 adapters and docking stations.
The network card based on these two kinds of chips no longer needs the extra USB-to-PCIe conversion chip, but also does not need to install the third-party control chip after being made into USB 3.1 lightning 3 expansion equipment, rely on its own integrated USB-to-Ethernet alone. The chip can be completely detached from the switch. The large and power-consuming traditional TB3-to-10G adapter directly accesses the normal Internet access of 100Mbps, Gigabit and even 5Gbps and 2.5Gbps networks.
New type AQtion AQC111U and AQC112U can provide up to 5Gbps and 2.5Gbps connectivity, respectively, to support the industry-accepted AQrate PHY technology. They are the first external Ethernet solutions to provide true Multi-Gig connection speeds for standard Cat 5e cabling over 100 meters.
In addition, both devices comply with the IEEE 802.3bz and NBASE-T Alliance PHY specifications approved in September 2016. For maximum flexibility, both devices are also backwards compatible with traditional 1000BASE-T (Gigabit). And 100BASE-TX (fast) Ethernet.
It is reported that Aquantia does not intend to rush to deliver the two chips to the complete machine manufacturers. Instead, it chose to cooperate with the component manufacturers. The first manufacturers to launch products based on these two new chips include Bizlink, Edimax, Goodway, and Sunrich. These adapters will be available in the fourth quarter of 2018.
The docking station equipped with a Multi-Gig chip can provide a performance of more than one gigabit wired connection network for notebook desktops. In 2017, global shipments of notebook computers were 116.6 million units. For the notebook computer market, Multi-Gig technology is a Great opportunity.
In terms of prices, according to estimates by industry insiders, the selling price of finished products equipped with the above two chips is expected to be between 25-40 US dollars, which is a lot more expensive than the existing 1G USB network cards that are generally lower than US$10.
