IDCC is one of the very few companies with basic TDMA and CDMA patents. Though, mismanaged in the past as reflected by its inability to sufficiently commercialize its groundbreaking patents, it has managed to claw its way back from its devastating pre-Markman jury trial loss to Motorola in 1995 to become a vital part of today's wireless market with a new management.
IDCC has over $100 million in cash, practically no debt, a growing recurring TDMA royalty stream (<$1m in 1998, $9.4m in 1999 and $4.3m in the March quarter) and only 53 million shares outstanding. It has a much-sought after developmental deal (turnkey tdd development) with Nokia that started in late 1998 even before the contract, which includes a framework for determining royalties on TDMA and WCDMA (fdd) after 2/2002, was inked in 2/99.
Equally as important, it has been an active member of the various standards bodies including the ITU and the 3GPP. Incidentally, the GSM standards body recently decided to close shop and folded its operations into the 3GPP so this is where the major 3G/4G decisions about basic and implentation patents will be made for the forseeable future.
In the 1999 annual report, IDCC gave some indication of its progress in the standards arena by listing its achievements.
Release 1999 from the 3GPP encompasses about 80% of the basic and implementation patents for WCDMA. Release 2000 is expected to complete the specifications for phase one of WCDMA. Quicken and IQ, over at the RB board, have been tracking the way that IDCC and Siemens/China have been trying to harmonize the specs for the TDD version of WCDMA.
Great Ideas from Interdigital
1) Fundamental TDMA Architecture -- We developed the basic design concepts and methodologies by which most commercial TDMA wireless systems are implemented worldwide. These concepts include fundamental FDMA/TDMA system architecture, roaming techniques, speech compression and syntheses, combined FDD/TDD air interface protocols and methods of dynamically assigning subscribers to frequencies and time slots.
2) Bandwidth on Demand -- This is a means of allocating the minimum required bandwidth to users in a wireless system depending on their individual needs. A mobile voice call requires a small amount of bandwidth, while mobile Internet access requires much more. Our designs for TDMA and CDMA systems allocate bandwidth in an extremely efficient manner, increasing the capacity of a wireless system. This will be an important feature in 3G systems.
3) Power Control -- This is a mechanism used in CDMA systems to control how much power is transmitted by and directed to each user. This must be precise to keep the signal clear and strong and to maximize system capacity. We have developed superior power control techniques to maximize system capacity and minimize signal interference and degradation.
4) Base Station Emulator -- A unique device, utilizing TDD technology, that simulates the performance of the base station in a wireless system. Originally developed to permit easier, less expensive testing of TDMA subscriber units, it contains core technology applicable to 3G TDD systems.
5) Joint Detection and Interference Cancellation -- This is an invention that cancels out extraneous noise. In a CDMA system everyone talks at the same time each person is assigned a code. Think of a cocktail party where each person is using a different language to communicate. If you know the language of the person you want to speak to, you can cancel out the other languages in order to communicate with that person.
6) Global Pilot Channel -- This feature is a key element of virtually every CDMA system. It is a reference signal transmitted by the base station that allows reliable and robust communications by all mobile users. Now a part of the new 3G standard, we originally used this technique as part of our B-CDMA air interface.
7) Packet Data -- We have developed an extremely efficient way of transporting packet data over a radio signal, increasing radio system capacity. This method has been included in the 3G standard as part of the TDD air interface protocol.
8) Multi-Code Transmission -- First developed for our B-CDMA fixed wireless designs, this invention allows a CDMA system to support high data- rate communications. It also makes the air interface flexible enough to provide different data rates to different mobile users on a dynamic basis. This is a fundamental feature of 3G designs and is part of the 3G standard.
9) Power Ramp-up and Call Establishment -- In CDMA systems, it is critical that no one user transmit more power than is required to establish and maintain a call to avoid interference with other callers. We invented this ramp-up scheme to allow a user to enter a system at a low power level and increase it gradually until the call is recognized by the base station. We developed and used this technique in our B-CDMA air interface, and a modified version of it is part of the 3G standard.
10) Seamless Hand-Over -- Our method of handing over CDMA calls between cells requires minimum system overhead and maximizes CDMA system capacity. This increases the coverage area, accommodates more users and saves battery life.
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