PicoChip is gearing up for the expected major femtocell take-up
with a range of enhanced femtocell products developed with a series
of partners.
The Bath-based company’s latest products are an eight user HSPA
femtocell solution, FDD and TDD variants of LTE and cost-optimised
SoC for HSPA femtocells.
PicoChip’s PC8219 is a baseband solution for eight-user HSPA
femtocells designed to run on its established PC202-10 processor
chip. The PC302 serves more cost-sensitive residential
applications.
“Small cells are a crucial part of networks in the future.
picoChip has consistently delivered technology to enable 3G
femtocells that solve operators’ most pressing problems. Our
software reference designs were the industry’s first to support
HSDPA and HSUPA, features we have extended to our low-cost PC302
system-on-chip,” said Nigel Toon, the newly appointed president and
CEO at picoChip.
"We’ve showed our approach can be extended to both 2G and 4G.
We have stretched our leadership position in HSPA with the
announcement of the industry’s first HSPA femtocell solution to
serve eight users - a top priority for network operators looking to
serve business customers,” said Toon.
Cambridge Consultants Limited (CCL) has produced a
GSM/GPRS/EDGE/E-EDGE physical layer (PHY) reference design called
Centaur implemented on a picoChip IC.
“Femtocell development to date has focused on 3G and 4G
technologies, but this product dramatically extends that, enabling
low-cost basestations and femtocells for the high-volume GSM
market,” says Toon, “the technology can be used for GSM-only
femtocells (for example for low-power GSM licensees); for
dual-mode WCDMA/GSM femtocells; or even as a low-cost macrocell
for economical wide area coverage in rural areas or developing
countries.”
One customer, Ubiquisys has a residential gateway product that
incorporates 3G femtocell technology, WiFi and DSL, and another
customer, ipAccess, has launched their nano 3G picocell for offices
and shops.
PicoChip is collaborating with Kisan Telecom in WiMAX, with ASTRI
and Agilent in TD-LTE, with mimoOn in FDD LTE, and with Sagem
Communications, a partner in the femtocell market with
Alcatel-Lucent, on the development of a “service enabled” 3G
femtocell integrated with a home gateway and HDTV set-top box.