InterDigital Communications Corporation (Nasdaq:IDCC), a leading developer of wireless technology and product platforms, today unveiled its Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) Wideband Time Division Duplex (WTDD) technology platform design for Third Generation (3G) wireless products.
In a presentation delivered at the UMTS 2001 Exhibition and Congress in Barcelona, Spain, InterDigital's Chief Technology Officer, Dr. Alain Briancon, described the technology and the Company's WTDD Baseband Modem Chip design for 3G wireless terminals.
He also discussed the benefits WTDD, also known as High Chip Rate TDD, offers to operators, equipment producers and applications developers--illustrating how WTDD yields higher value terminals, supporting rich applications.
WTDD, an integral component of the 3G UMTS standard, is the most effective technology to enable rich applications in the full range of 3G products. When coupled with WCDMA Frequency Division Duplex (FDD), WTDD technology delivers the complete 3G WCDMA solution.
"The technology supports voice and data functions, and is well suited for 'always on,' asymmetric Internet access, e-mail, data transfer, video streaming, and other rich applications. In addition, because the technology is robust and is designed to operate seamlessly with FDD, WTDD can be deployed and implemented in 3G networks at very low additional cost. It is uniquely suited to micro and pico cell deployments in 3G networks, providing scalable hot spot coverage, and is adaptable to a wide range of services and applications," explained Dr. Briancon.
"Incorporating WTDD technology into new products will allow all parties in the value chain to maximize their return on their 3G investment," explained Dr. Briancon to the network operators and equipment manufacturers assembled in Barcelona. "Operators benefit because WTDD technology yields higher value terminals, giving them the flexibility to support rich applications in the unpaired bands of 3G spectrum. Equipment producers benefit because the technology enables them to use the same core modem to create many different products at very low cost. Applications developers benefit because WTDD technology gives them a remarkably flexible environment to develop a long list of new applications."
Dr. Briancon described the WTDD Baseband Modem Chip for 3G terminals that InterDigital is developing. "The stand-alone chip we are developing incorporates leading-edge designs utilizing our pioneering technology. This is a fully standards-compliant baseband modem chip for multi-mode 3G terminals designed to interface seamlessly with FDD/GSM hardware and software to enhance terminals with WTDD capability. Our chip will be designed to enable wireless devices to support voice and data traffic up to two megabits per second. Our design is harmonized with FDD and is implemented with a low gate count, enabling use of the WTDD technology at a low incremental cost," he said.
InterDigital's complete WTDD solution consists of the baseband modem, a software protocol stack and the RF reference design. It will be particularly effective in delivering advanced voice and data capability to smart phones, wireless personal digital assistants, laptop computers, and other innovative wireless terminals.
Dr. Briancon's presentation also highlighted both the efficiency and the multiple deployment scenarios of WTDD. For asymmetric applications, WTDD is 20%-35% more spectrally efficient in micro and pico cell deployments than a comparable FDD-only deployment, increasing significantly the number of users on the system.
"Utilizing sophisticated simulation techniques, our detailed analysis of the performance of WTDD technology in a variety of deployments makes it clear that the technology is the efficient solution in micro and pico cells where asymmetric voice and data demands will be the most intense. It will be particularly efficient handling a wide variety of multi-media traffic, including transmission of pictures, video streaming, making airline reservations on the go, Internet shopping and chat, music and many PDA applications. WTDD technology is the ideal complement to FDD technology, which is most effective in macro and micro cell settings," Dr. Briancon said.
As the volume of data traffic over 3G networks increases, InterDigital sees applications for WTDD not only at capacity hot spots such as shopping malls and airports, but also for enterprise systems, such as intranets and extranets, and integrated services in Virtual Private Networks.
InterDigital believes that the topography of most offices makes WTDD technology an ideal solution for enterprise applications.
"We believe that the applications are almost limitless," Dr. Briancon concluded. "By focusing on full system deployment solutions with lower incremental costs per user, we open many doors. You can expect better and more frequent application implementation, constantly evolving network efficiency and an increasingly satisfying experience for the end user. When you do all of these things and can still increase revenue, you have the beginnings of a new culture in wireless communications."
InterDigital will make its WTDD technology available to other companies through hardware and software products, including chips for 3G terminals and software protocol stacks, and through technology transfer and licensing agreements. Dr. Briancon's presentation is available on InterDigital's website, www.interdigital.com.
[ Home | Contact | MobiChat | Experts database | Let's do it ]
Comments to the content of this page can be posted on the MobiChat discussion group