IMHO, Qualcomm is late with a dual mode GSM/CDMA chipset. There is definately a market demand for such a chipset and it would help them penetrate GSM territory. PrairieComm is ready to fill that need as they announced at Wireless 2000 earlier this month and as is described in this story - DPR
Source URL: techweb.com
March 20, 2000, Issue: 1203
PrairieComm's chipsets aimed at muiltimode
Mark LaPedus
Silicon Valley- Expanding its portfolio of cellular-phone ICs,
PrairieComm Inc. recently announced a line of chipsets, including a
multimode product that supports two digital standards, CDMA and
GSM, on the same device.
PrairieComm has also jumped into the third-generation wireless-IC
market with a chipset supporting the cdma2000 standard, one of two
protocols vying for dominance in 3G wireless networks.
Announced at the recent CTIA Wireless 2000 trade show in New
Orleans, the chipsets will enable a new class of wireless handsets,
according to John Diehl, president and chief executive of PrairieComm,
Rolling Meadows, Ill. The six-year-old company was founded by former
employees of Cadence Design Systems Inc. and Motorola Inc.
Until now, the company has focused primarily on producing chipsets for
the TDMA digital-cellular standard. PrairieComm has sold more than 1
million TDMA-based chipsets to such companies as Mitsubishi and
Panasonic, according to company executives.
Now, however, PrairieComm is turning its attention to multimode
chipsets. Last year, the company announced what it said was the world's
first chipset to support GSM and TDMA on the same device.
PrairieComm's new CDMA/GSM chipset advances the company's
strategy. "The business model is rapidly changing," Diehl said. "In the
future, handsets will not support a single standard. We believe the market
is moving toward multimode handsets."
The CDMA/GSM chipset supports several functions, such as Bluetooth
and global positioning system technology. The company has not yet
disclosed shipment or price information for this dual-mode product.
PrairieComm will continue to produce single-mode chipsets, according
to Diehl, including the recently announced cdma2000-based device for
3G handsets.
The chipset complies with the 1x Multi-Carrier specification and is
backward-compatible with CDMA standards such as IS-95A and
IS-95B.
Supporting wireless data rates at speeds up to 153 Kbits/s, the chipset,
which is not yet priced, will begin sampling in the second quarter,
according to the company.
ebnonline.com
Copyright ÿ 2000 CMP Media Inc.
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