Wavesat and Atmel Join Forces to Lead the 802.16 Market
Wednesday January 21, 8:01 am ET
Wavesat's Proven WiMAX Technology and Atmel's Advanced Semiconductor Experience Will Launch a Chipset for the Broadband Wireless Access Market
SAN JOSE, Calif., Wireless Communications Association International
Symposium, Jan. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Wavesat Inc., a developer of
Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) Broadband Wireless Access
(BWA) modem silicon, announced today that they have chosen Atmel's
SiliconCITY(TM) capability to design and manufacture the first WiMAX compliant
IEEE-802.16d chips. Wavesat has been working on this new OFDM modem technology
since 1997 and this new chip represents their sixth generation of OFDM modem.
Already, more than a dozen system-makers are using Wavesat's development kits
to design next-generation BWA systems.
"The decision to team up with Atmel further reinforces Wavesat's position as the premier provider of 802.16d compliant chips in the marketplace," said Michel Guay, President and CEO of Wavesat. "For our customers, this alliance means they are getting the best of OFDM wireless technology built by a world class semiconductor manufacturer."
"Atmel is pleased to work with the world wide leader of 802.16d/WiMAX OFDM technology," commented Jay Johnson, Marketing Director for Atmel. "Using our .18 micron SiliconCITY mixed-signal standard cell library for this complex design will offer Wavesat and its customers a high performance and cost-effective solution."
Wavesat is able to draw upon Atmel's common design infrastructure and qualified IP to help ensure first pass silicon success. Since Wavesat's ultimate goal is to create a single chip SoC, Atmel's SiliconCITY was a logical choice. It is the creative foundation for Atmel's ASIC/ASSP product strategy. It is built on re-useable and validated IP and architectures from Atmel's broad line of standard products and ASSPs within its System-on-Chip portfolio.
Wavesat, a principle member of the WiMAX Forum, has actively participated in all of the development phases of the IEEE 802.16 standards and believes that they will be the catalyst for commercialization of this standard. Wavesat will make the fixed wireless business case compelling to operators and accelerate the deployment of this technology.
Wavesat and Atmel will have the DM256 chip available in Q2 2004. Using development kits now will enable system manufacturers to offer WiMAX compliant systems as early as Q3 2004.
About Wavesat Inc.
Founded in 1993, Wavesat Wireless Inc., a fabless semiconductor company, focused on the development and supply of OFDM modem chips. Wavesat is headquartered in Montreal, Canada where it conducts research and development activities. Wavesat is a privately held company. Key investors include Skypoint Capital Corporation, BDC Venture Capital, Innovatech du Grand Montreal and Monet Capital.
Wavesat is a principle member of the WiMAX (World Interoperability for Microwave Access) Forum, a nonprofit corporation formed to certify the compatibility and interoperability of broadband wireless access devices conforming to the 802.16a/d wireless MAN specifications and to help accelerate the introduction of these devices into the marketplace.
About SiliconCITY
SiliconCITY is the creative foundation for Atmel's ASIC/ASSP product strategy. It is built on re-useable and validated IP and architectures from Atmel's broad line of standard products and ASSPs within its System-on-Chip portfolio. Atmel has SiliconCITY platforms available now to give customers a significant time-to-market advantage. In addition, the common design infrastructure allows customers to seamlessly migrate from standard products to custom ASICs with confidence in first pass success. SiliconCITY from Atmel ... Your System Foundation. |
