Atom Processors Move Intel Into New Markets

Intel has taken the wraps off four new Atom processors and two control hub chips for use in low-power Relevant Products/Services embedded applications. It also announced a new memorandum of understanding under which customers of Taiwan-based chip foundry TSMC eventually will be able to produce customized Atom designs for embedded applications using TSMC's processes, IP, libraries and design flows.

"Its a bold move" that opens the door for Intel to become active in new markets, while "maintaining full control over the process" and "who we sell to," said Intel Executive Vice President Sean Maloney during a conference call with financial analysts. "I believe as we look forward to the next three to four years, more and more customers will need to embed full PC functionality into their devices," Maloney said.

Intel's agreement with TSMC is "all about the collaboration" required to expand the availability of Intel's Atom to customers through integration with TSMC's diverse IP infrastructure Relevant Products/Services, Intel Senior Vice President Anand Chandrasekhar said. Capacity should no longer be a long-term issue for Intel given its announcement last month that the chipmaker will invest $7 billion to build advanced 32nm manufacturing facilities in the United States over the next two years.

Intel believes the package size and low-power envelope of its new Atom Z5xx chips make them ideal for designing in-car infotainment systems, eco-technology devices, and next-generation media phones capable of delivering communication services over IP. But to really compete with ARM, Intel will need to remain focused on the mobile application space, where devices must run off batteries.

"That's really the area in which Intel has been trying to compete with ARM directly," Sibeco said. "And as they march down the Atom road map, a lot of the work they are doing is toward optimizing the power efficiency Relevant Products/Services of the processor."

What is UMA Technology ??

UMA is the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) global standard for subscriber access to mobile circuit, packet and IMS-based services over any IP-based access network, including the Internet. With UMA, mobile operators can now leverage the cost and performance advantages of IP access technologies (DSL, Cable, Wi-Fi...) to deliver high-quality, low-cost mobile voice and data services in the locations where subscribers spend most of their time - the home and office.

To enable access to the mobile service core via IP-based networks, the UMA standard defines a new core network element (the UMA Network Controller (UNC)) and associated protocols that provide for the secure transport of mobile signaling and user plane traffic over IP. The UNC interfaces into the core network via existing 3GPP specified interfaces.

Fundamentally, UMA provides a standard, scalable, secure IP interface into the core service network of mobile operators. By deploying a UMA Network Controller (UNC), mobile operators can extend all existing and future circuit, packet and IMS-based services over any IP-based access network, including the Internet. While initially developed to enable dual-mode cellular/Wi-Fi handset services, the UMA standard can be leveraged to deliver a number of compelling new fixed-mobile convergence services.

Below is the history of UMA technology development :

The 3GPP UMA standard was born from the requirements of mobile and integrated operators to deliver high-performance, low-cost mobile voice and data services to subscribers at home and the office. UMA has proven to be the ideal standard for mobile and integrated operators to extend circuit, packet and IMS services over the public Internet and continues to evolve to meet the needs of mobile and integrated operators worldwide.

New Portable Base Station Emulator from Andrew Makes Indoor Coverage Easier

Andrew, the CommScope, Inc. division that is a global leader in wireless communication systems and products, is going indoors with its Invex.NxG™ wireless drive-test system, offering new equipment that makes designing and testing indoor wireless coverage systems easier.

The i.Send™ portable transmitter imitates wireless base station signals by broadcasting radio frequency (RF) signals that allow for coverage measurements indoors. Network designers can use the i.Send transmitter to verify optimal antenna positioning for indoor distributed antenna systems (DAS) and as a low power source for testing the design and functionality of RF repeaters and base stations.

“The i.Send transmitter is a unique tool for verifying in-building coverage, DAS and repeater system design,” said John Baker, vice president and general manager, Network Solutions, Andrew. “Such a device should help operator engineers maximize the performance of their indoor networks prior to final installation.”

The portable Invex.NxG i.Send offers over 20 dBm of transmit power for up to four hours between battery charges and supports GSM, CDMA, UMTS and W-CDMA frequency bands with user-settable channel and message parameters. Users can configure i.Send via a Wi-Fi connection, selecting the desired frequency and modulation schemes, with the ability to set the parameters within the scheme. For ease of operation, the unit is placed in transmit or standby mode via the Wi-Fi connection.

Andrew’s Invex.NxG wireless drive-test system enables wireless operators to view their own and their competitors’ wireless voice and data services from the perspective of the subscriber by providing critical quality-of-service (QoS) measurements. Invex.NxG identifies failed originations, abnormal ends, call setup time, and call quality for improving voice service levels. It also performs packet data testing for analyzing upload/download throughput speeds for data services and can be used by field personnel for independently checking network signal strength and identifying base station locations and sectors, assisting them in their jobs.

When UMA meet LTE

By Steve Shaw, Kineto Wireless

Long Term Evolution (LTE) may be closer than we think. LTE, the name for the mobile community’s next-generation broadband IP access network, evokes images of a distant, foreign land. Yet a report released by ABI Research in June 2008 projected 32 million subscribers will be using the technology by 2013, a mere five years from now.

As an access network, LTE holds the promise of a true ‘mobile internet’, a native packet access network with peak data rates in excess of 100 mbps. In an all-IP mobile world, what is the role dual-mode Wi-Fi handset services based on UMA technology?

As a backdrop, UMA is about delivery of mobile services provided by the core network (circuit, packet, IMS) over broadband IP access networks and Wi-Fi. It enables mobile operators to leverage the cost and performance advantages of the Internet to make mobile services work better and cost less where subscribers spend most of their time, at home and in the office.

When considering whether UMA is competitive or complementary to an LTE macro network, it is important to understand the underlying benefits of UMA in dual-mode handset services. From an operator’s perspective, there are three clear benefits:

• Offload the macro RAN (Radio Access Network)
• Improve the performance of mobile services indoors
• Create new ‘home zone’ services

The macro mobile network offers unbelievable opportunity for service delivery. But there are practical economic and service advantages in leveraging an in-building radio network in conjunction with an LTE deployment.

The ability to offload traffic to a broadband network, improve the performance of mobile services indoors, and create new, differentiated home zone services is even more important given the characteristics of LTE.

UMA-based home zone services, is a pragmatic, proven mechanism for mobile operators to extend their circuit, packet and IMS services onto the fixed broadband IP network. It’s clear that UMA provides the perfect complement to tomorrow’s LTE networks.

Combining Multiple Backhaul Routes into Single Virtual Pipes

­Mobile backhaul vendor, Celtro says that it has developed a platform which blends multiple transport links into a single virtual backhaul pipe. The announcement of Virtual Bonding's availability follows the completion of trials at two (unnamed) Tier-1 European mobile operators, where the firm says it dramatically improved HSPA service delivery.

One of the greatest challenges faced by operators in the deployment of HSPA services is the shortage of backhaul network bandwidth and capacity. In order to ensure the highest level of service, operators must be able to maximize the HSPA peak rate capacity available between cell sites and the RNC.

Celtro's new Virtual Bonding technology makes it possible to bond together different transport links over various infrastructure technologies into one virtual backhaul pipe to transmit HSPA traffic. With Virtual Bonding, any combination of existing links - like ADSL2+, SHDSL, traditional E1 and Ethernet - can be combined to form a single high-capacity pipe. This virtual pipe's peak-rate is equal to the accumulated peak-rates of the individual links.

Virtual Bonding's inherent load sharing further benefits operators with traffic protection against single-link degradation or failure.

"Operators are facing a steep increase in mobile data usage, and need to provide immediate capacity for HSPA deployments. Virtual Bonding provides mobile operators with a unique and innovative means to increase HSPA backhaul capacity at a minimal CapEx, by harnessing existing infrastructure for cellular traffic," said Ron Zor, CEO of Celtro. "This new technology demonstrates Celtro's continued leadership and commitment to developing leading-edge solutions designed to overcome backhaul network challenges and enables mobile operators to deliver the highest level of service to their subscribers," he continued.

Virtual Bonding is available as a part of Celtro's mobile backhaul switching solutions suite, which optimizes TDM, ATM, IP/MPLS mobile backhaul traffic. The first commercial deployments of Virtual Bonding are expected in April 2009. Celtro is an active participant in the establishment of the Bonding industry standard via leading standards organizations such as the IP/MPLS Forum and IETF, together with Tier-1 operators and other leading vendors.

is it possible that mobile phone transparent ?

A group of scientists at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) has fabricated a working computer chip that is almost completely clear. The new technology, called transparent resistive random access memory (TRRAM), is described in this week's issue of the journal Applied Physics Letters, which is published by the American Institute of Physics.

The new chip is similar in type to an existing technology known as complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) memory -- common commercial chips that provide the data storage for USB flash drives and other devices. Like CMOS devices, the new chip provides "non-volatile" memory, meaning that it stores digital information without losing data when it is powered off. Unlike CMOS devices, however, the new TRRAM chip is almost completely clear.

The Korean team is also developing a TRRAM using flexible materials. Technically, TRRAM device rely upon an existing technology known as resistive random access memory (RRAM), which is already in commercial development for future electronic data storage devices. RRAM is built using metal oxide materials, which are very transparent. What the Korean team did was to build a chip by sandwiching these metal oxide materials between equally transparent electrodes and substrates.

According to the Korean team, TRRAM devices are easy to fabricate and may be commercially available in just 3-4 years. Don't expect them to replace existing CMOS devices, however. Instead, Seo predicts, the new transparent devices will drive electronics in new directions.

LTE Mobile Data Download Speeds reach 60 Mbps demos by LG

LG Electronics has developed the first handset modem chip based on LTE standards - which can theoretically support wireless download speeds of 100Mbps and upload speeds of 50Mbps. LG demonstrated the chip today at its Mobile Communication Technology Research Lab in Anyang, Korea, achieving wireless download speeds of 60 Mbps and upload speeds of 20 Mbps.

The fastest phones currently on the market use HSDPA technology and download at a maximum speed of 7.6 Mbps.

For the past three years, LG have been pursuing 3GPP LTE standardization, working to develop and test commercially viable LTE technology with around 250 staff. According to market research company Strategy Analytics, the global LTE handset market will double from 70 million sales units in 2012 to 150 million sales units by 2013. LG will continue to advance this technology and develop further technologies to maintain global leadership.

The first LTE mobile phones will likely reach the market in 2010.