The device enables Bluetooth to support data rates of up to 24 Mbits/second and a significant increase in range by using other wireless radio technologies, such as 802.11, as its transport medium.

The AMP technology is being demonstrated on Broadcom's BCM4325 single-chip Bluetooth + Wi-Fi combo, as well as modules that integrate the BCM2046 single-chip Bluetooth solution and BCM4312 single-chip Wi-Fi device.

The demonstration shows fast file transfers between two AMP-enabled devices (for instance PC to PC, PC to mobile phone, mobile phone to mobile phone), which highlight the emerging Bluetooth networking version's versatility.

"Our position as a leader in both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth has enabled us to take leadership in applications that require multiple technologies to work well together in the same device, such as Bluetooth AMP," said Robert Rango, Senior Vice President & General Manager of Broadcom's Wireless Connectivity Group.

The first AMP technology target for Bluetooth is 802.11g wireless LAN - a radio technology that could increase Bluetooth transfer rates by up to 10 tenfold when compared to standard or enhanced data rate (EDR) Bluetooth.

"Broadcom's AMP demonstration of Bluetooth running over an 802.11 link highlights the new opportunities for expansion of the consumer electronics applications being driven by the evolving Bluetooth standard," said Mike Foley, Executive Director of the Bluetooth SIG. "Technologies such as Bluetooth AMP and other key upgrades available in the forthcoming 'Seattle' launch will ensure growing applications for the future."

The AMP implementation is based on the current draft of the next Bluetooth specification (code named 'Seattle') and Broadcom expects its implementation will be compliant with the final specification when it achieves ratification - which is expected to occur in mid-2009.

Separately, Broadcom announced at CES a Wi-Fi router chip it says provides four-times greater routing performance compared with previous devices at comparable price points. The single chip device, dubbed the BCM5356, is targeted at entry-level Wi-Fi routers that provide the speed and reliability of higher-end models.

Broadcom suggest that because of the tight integration, OEMs can design very small routers that can reduce the total system cost by up to 33 percent compared to previous 802.11g designs.

The chip and turnkey BCM95356SSNR reference design are now sampling to early access customers with volume production scheduled for Q1 of 2009.

The part integrates an 802.11 media access controller (MAC) and baseband, a 2.4 GHz radio, a 333 MHz MIPS 74K CPU core, a 5-port Fast Ethernet switch and physical layer (PHY) device, CMOS power amplifier and several options for system memory interfaces.