IPWireless, Altair to develop multi-band, multi-mode LTE modem

SAN FRANCISCO, USA & HOD HASHARON, ISRAEL: IPWireless, a leading provider of 3GPP technology for new applications and markets, and Altair Semiconductor, a leading developer of ultra-low power, small footprint and high performance 3GPP LTE chipsets, have announced a partnership to develop a suite of multi-band LTE modem products that will support key frequency bands ideally suited to global LTE deployments.

The companies will integrate Altair’s cutting-edge software-defined radio baseband processor into IPWireless’ LTE devices. The first consumer friendly LTE USB modem device will support multiple frequency bands including the 800MHz digital dividend band, 1800 MHz and 2.5 GHz. Subsequent devices will also support the entire US 700MHz and AWS frequency. Samples of the device will be available by September, 2010, with commercial availability before the end of the year.

“Mobile broadband has become a strategic imperative for mobile operators as consumers now expect high-bandwidth applications, such as video and content-rich Internet, to run smoothly on their mobile devices. As such, operators are continually looking at ways to improve this service and increase both capacity and data speeds,” said Malcolm Gordon, COO of IPWireless.

“By partnering with Altair Semiconductor to develop LTE modem devices, we are providing mobile operators and their customers with a high performance, low power solution that will satisfy the needs of consumers as LTE networks are deployed globally. Altair’s flexible chipset architecture enables us to rapidly develop devices that meet mobile operators’ growing demand for high quality LTE devices that support multiple spectrum bands, including the newly released 800MHz digital dividend spectrum band.”

“IPWireless is a pioneer in developing and designing 3G and 4G wireless broadband devices,” said Eran Eshed, co-founder and VP of Marketing and Business Development at Altair. "The combination of their innovative technology, product integration expertise and our patented software-defined radio 4G chipsets has allowed us to jointly develop one of the first commercial LTE modems for mobile operators looking to get a jump on deploying LTE networks and provide their users with an extraordinary experience.”

IPWireless’ LTE device will incorporate Altair’s FourGee-3100 baseband and FourGee-6200 RFIC chipsets as well as IPWireless’ own technology solutions and software. The FourGee-3100 is a 3GPP LTE baseband processor that supports LTE category 3 (CAT-3) throughputs (100Mbps/50Mbps DL/UL respectively).

The chip implements a 20MHz MIMO receiver and is based on a proprietary, cutting edge O²P Software Defined Radio (SDR) processor that offers performance which significantly exceeds traditional communications DSP cores, yet consumes a fraction of the power. The chipset supports FDD as well as TDD versions of the LTE standard and has undergone extensive interoperability testing (IOT) with major infrastructure vendors, allowing IPWireless to accelerate time to market for its LTE USB device product and ensure full compatibility with future LTE networks.

The FourGee-6200 is a high-performance, wideband FDD/TDD radio IC which covers any 3GPP LTE frequency band in the range between 700-2700MHz. The combined chipset offers terminal manufacturers a true global solution.

In addition to Altair’s chipsets, IPWireless' LTE devices will use a custom designed multi-band MIMO antenna that will improve both cell edge and peak rate performance. The RF transceiver chains have been highly optimized to provide superior receiver sensitivity.

The devices will support Windows, Mac and Linux operating systems, and will have the facility to support over-the-air (OTA) software updates without disruption to the user. A range of custom accessories including desktop stands, external antennas and laptop clips further complement the offering and improve the overall user experience.

IPWireless will also integrate Altair’s FourGee-3100/6200 baseband/RFIC chipset platform into its PCI Express Mini Card (PEM) for use in LTE networks. IPWireless’ PEMs have already been successfully embedded into a wide range of devices including laptops, public safety devices, and residential broadband routers for applications such as traffic light management, supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA), transit and other machine-to-machine applications.