Fujitsu Semiconductor inks MOU with BPPT Indonesia

SINGAPORE: Fujitsu Semiconductor Asia Pte Ltd (FSAL) has inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Indonesia’s Badan Pengkajian dan Penerapan Teknologi (BPPT), also known as the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology.

The objective of this MOU is to facilitate discussion and collaboration to utilize Fujitsu Semiconductor’s DVB Decoder and Wimax Chipsets as devices for Information and Communication Technology systems, especially in the areas of set-top box technology in Digital TV receivers and Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) applications. This collaboration aims to support the local industries and encourage local manufacturers to increase local content share using Fujitsu Semiconductor devices.

The first technology transfer includes the development of Disaster Early Warning System (DEWS) enabled DVB-T Set-Top-Box receiver system that will alert the populace against earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods and tsunami, giving Indonesians time to react and evacuate to a safer haven.

Dr. Ir. Marzan A. Iskandar, chairman, BPPT, has high hopes for this project, saying: “I envision this collaboration to encourage Indonesian industries and manufacturers to increase local content. This partnership will allow both parties to tap on each other’s expertise, through the exchange and sharing of information and knowledge.”

Junshi Yamashita, president, FSAL, echoed Dr Iskandar’s sentiments, adding: “We believe this alliance with the Indonesian ICT sector will aid Fujitsu Semiconductor in the development and refinement of our Digital Video Broadcast-Terrestrial technologies and Broadband Wireless Access applications.

“At the same time, we are especially excited by our involvement in the Disaster Early Warning System (DEWS), which will receive disaster warnings from different centres throughout Indonesia, and transmit these warnings in a timely manner to the population of Indonesia via DVBT transmission.”

Three key points of action in the MOU
The MOU between both parties will encompass three collaborative activities, first of which is the development of Digital Video Broadcast-Terrestrial Free-to-Air STB (DVB-T FTA STB) with Early Warning System (EWS) features for the Indonesian market, as well as conceptualising DVB-T FTA DEWS standardization.

Apart from that, two other activities covered by the MOU include the development of Digital Video Broadcast-Terrestrial with Middle-Ware application, and the development of Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) applications.

The collaboration between FSAL and BPPT will include visits and knowledge transfer through the exchange of experts and technical personnel. Both parties will also be looking at organising and participating in conferences, courses, workshops and exhibitions which will increase knowledge capital.

Exchanging technical data and information related to Information and Communications Technology (ICT) as well as the development of test tools for ICT projects will also be undertaken by both parties, with the objective of implementing these tools in future ICT projects.

A pioneer in digital TV
Fujitsu Semiconductor entered the digital TV industry as early as the 1990s, and has been providing complete digital TV solutions ever since. At present, Fujitsu Semiconductor’s digital TV solutions are used widely in cable TV, terrestrial broadcasting and satellite TV, as well as network surveillance around the world.

Its products cover the areas of encoding chips, video decoding chips and codec/transcoding chips. Fujitsu Semiconductor’s digital TV solutions are ubiquitous both in standard definition and high definition set top box, PVR/DVR, Encoder/Transcoder, PND portable device and security monitoring devices.