RF&WirelessBlog

Femtocells to the fore at the Fira – Mobile World Congress 2011

This year more than ever before, femtocells were one of the key technology stories at Mobile World Congress. But far from just conventional residential femtocells, larger enterprise and 'metro' femtocells were much in evidence this time, and the distinction between these and microcells or picocells is now largely based on which platform they have been developed on rather than their physical size or capacity. At the opposite end of the spectrum, a residential femtocell can now be realised in a USB dongle form factor.

ST-Ericsson and Sagem Wireless collaborate on multimode LTE/HSPA+ platform

It has been announced that Sagem Wireless and ST-Ericsson are to partner on the development of multimode LTE/HSPA+ reference designs, devices and modules. The two companies are collaborating on a multimode platform that can connect to LTE, HSPA+, 3G and GSM networks, with the aim of launching a mobile broadband modem before the end of 2010. This builds on an announcement in March of this year of a strategic partnership to co-operate on the development of a wide range of wireless products.

Roke Manor and picoChip femtocell has 40km range

Roke Manor Research has developed a 3G femtocell reference design with wide area coverage up to a 40km range, using picoChip's technology as the development platform. As well as giving coverage of an area more than 40,000 times the size of that traditionally offered by femtocells, itt is also the first design of its type to support full mobility at speeds of up to 120km/hour. Roke says that this dramatic improvement in range has been achieved by modifying the physical layer code.

Deltenna launches wireless broadband enabler for 2Mb/s rural service delivery

A device to deliver broadband to rural areas that are distant from a fixed telephone exchange has been launched today by Chippenham, UK, based Deltenna. The WiBE (Wireless Broadband Enabler) creates a 2Mb/s Wi-Fi hotspot connected to the 3G mobile network, even in many places where a 3G mobile phone would be unable register a signal.

Cellular reports highlight Chinese market growth in 2010

Two newly-published market studies – from Forward Concepts and Strategy Analytics – have provided a snapshot of different areas of the cellular market, and have both concluded that China promises strong growth prospects in 2010.

Freescale moves back into MMICs

Freescale has announced its re-entry into the GaAs MMIC market with four amplifiers designed for use in basestations and femtocells. Freescale pulled out of GaAs MMICs in 2007 when it sold its GaAs line to Skyworks, then began running down its CS1 GaAs fab in Tempe in Spring 2008, but transferred the main designers to the RF Division, where they joined other engineers involved in GaAs device development. They also retained more than 100 GaAs process and development patents.

Antenova announces nine-band LTE mobile broadband antenna

UK integrated antenna and RF modules vendor Antenova has announced the new DATANOVA 4G nine-band antenna with LTE and GPS for the new generation of lightweight notebooks and netbooks.

DATANOVA 4G is a custom mobile broadband antenna that covers LTE (bands 4, 7, 13 and 17), 3G, CDMA/GSM, Wi-Fi, WiMAX, UWB and GPS. Like the other antennas in the DATANOVA range, it can cover all or as many of the bands as required, and provides a choice of wireless broadband connectivity options. The antennas eliminate the need for exposed or unsightly external antennas, and are provided in small volume, low profile form factors – down to the width of PCB, 0.8mm, making them particularly suitable for use in ultra thin, lightweight notebooks and netbooks, including the Dell Adamo XPS, which is the world's thinnest notebook at only 9.99mm in height/thickness.

Mobile World Congress: wireless PA chips evolving – single-chip phone getting closer?

The RF power amplifier (PA) has always been the key component in a mobile handset design in terms of defining the power efficiency of the whole phone, and finding ways to optimise its power consumption has been an ongoing quest for semiconductor vendors. And for many years the industry has speculated on the feasibility of the single-chip phone, but the main stumbling block has always been the inability to integrate the PA – which has traditionally been a GaAs chip − with the silicon parts of the circuit because of the different semiconductor technologies.

Some announcements at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona last week may well have shifted expectations on both of these issues. Firstly RF Micro Devices (RFMD), which leads the GaAs handset PA market, has introduced what it claims is a new category of device based around the PA – the 'power platform'.

But GaAs now has real competition from silicon in its traditional PA stronghold.

Wireless moves into a new decade

The first week of a new year may seem a rather unsociable time to hold a major trade show, but the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas has become established as a showcase for the new product developments that will shape the immediate future of the consumer electronics market. In recent years wireless technology, and wireless-enabled IT products, have increased to become a dominant part of this market. The first days of a new year are also the traditional time for looking forward to what the future will bring, so the conjunction is timely.

So what will the new decade bring for the wireless and RF industry?

Basestation market up 10% in 2009, says In-Stat

The number of newly deployed macro cellular basestations worldwide has grown by over 10% during 2009, according to a newly published report by analysts In-Stat. The basestation market is thriving despite the poor state of the worldwide economy, and is being driven by demand for mobile phones, especially smartphones, and wireless broadband services. macro cellular basestations will grow over 10% in 2009.