Picochip shows femtocell solution and LTE variants

Picochip demonstrated an eight-user HSPA femtocell solution and FDD and TDD variants of LTE at Mobile World Congress 2009.

Picochip also showcased the PC302: a cost-optimised system-on-chip (SoC) solution for HSPA femtocells, while its technology was used to power products and demonstrations on more than 20 stands at the show.

Also announced at the exhibition was the company's PC8219, which is a complete baseband solution for eight-user HSPA femtocells designed to run on its established PC202-10 processor chip.

Two of the company's lead customers are development partners for the product.

The PC302 serves more cost-sensitive residential applications.

It is the first in the PC3xx series of devices.

Nigel Toon, president and chief executive officer of Picochip, said: 'Small cells are a crucial part of networks in the future.

'Our software reference designs were the industry's first to support HSDPA and HSUPA - features we have extended to our low-cost PC302 SoC,' he added.

Picochip demonstrated: Wimax, in collaboration with Kisan Telecom; TD-LTE, in association with Astri and Agilent; and FDD LTE, working with MimoOn.

Also at Picochip's stand, Sagem Communications, a partner in the femtocell market with Alcatel-Lucent, demonstrated a rich 'service-enabled' 3G femtocell integrated with a home gateway and HDTV set-top box.

Cambridge Consultants also launched a comprehensive GSM solution based on the company's products.

At the exhibition, previously disclosed Picochip customer Ubiquisys unveiled a residential gateway product that incorporates 3G femtocell technology, WiFi and DSL, while Ipaccess introduced its nano 3G picocell for offices and shops.

The CCL GSM solution, designated Centaur, is a comprehensive GSM/GPRS/EDGE/E-EDGE physical layer (PHY) reference design implemented on a Picochip Picoarray device.

Toon said: 'Femtocell development to date has focused on 3G and 4G technologies, but this product dramatically extends that, enabling low-cost base stations and femtocells for the high-volume GSM market.

'The technology can be used for GSM-only femtocells, for example for low-power GSM licensees, for dual-mode WCDMA/GSM femtocells or even as a low-cost macrocell for economical wide-area coverage in rural areas or developing countries,' he added.

Rupert Baines, Picochip's vice-president of marketing, delivered a presentation in the Femtozone, outlining how femtocells are expanding in scope to serve multiple applications.

The Femtozone, a joint initiative between the Femto Forum and the GSMA, provided a single point of information at Mobile World Congress 2009 for issues relevant to femtocells.

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