Wifi Revolution

Fujitsu Network Communications and Fujitsu Microelectronics America Inc. last week unveiled a new, comprehensive WiMAX strategy covering every major component in the WiMAX network, including silicon solutions, electronic devices, radio access network solutions, professional services and backhaul infrastructure solutions.

Driving the overhaul of Fujitsu’s WiMAX portfolio are recent advancements in nanotechnology, which serves as the basis for the company’s WiMAX SoC. The system utilizes proprietary 90 nm process technology to deliver higher performance and lower power consumption.

Taking front stage, center, in the new Fujitsu WiMAX product line are two new high performance base stations designed for indoor or outdoor use. Based on the ratified IEEE (News - Alert) 802.16-2005 standard and the WiMAX Forum definition of mobile WiMAX, these new base stations include a compact RF unit with high-efficiency RF amplifiers and a compact, high performance baseband unit. The base stations employ multiple antenna technologies such as multiple-input/multiple-output (MIMO), as well as Digital Pre-Distortion (DPD) amplifiers, to deliver what Fujitsu claims is “the highest performance, comprehensive WiMAX solution” available on the market.

“Our standards-based end-to-end WiMAX solution provides superior performance and flexibility for fixed and mobile services, with high bandwidth and a wide coverage area,” said Eisuke Iwabuchi, president of the mobile system business unit of Fujitsu Limited, in a press release. “A key advantage of our solution is that it allows for easy installation and cost-effective network design, while providing high-speed connections for users and tight integration with all IP networks.”

Fujitsu’s WiMAX SoC solution is ideal for PC cards and mobile device applications such as high-speed vehicular data sharing, consumer-in-motion and mobile appliance connectivity. Fujitsu has pledged that it will continue to provide competitive SoC solutions which are optimized for innovative and attractive handsets for the mobile broadband era as the silicon solutions continue to advance toward smaller, lower-priced, higher-capacity, more-energy-efficient chips.

Perhaps most importantly, the WiMAX SoC is backed by Fujitsu’s global presence and leadership in the development of next generation networks. With Fujitsu’s WiMAX solution, carriers only need to work with only one strategic partner – and Fujitsu reportedly does an excellent job of supporting its solutions. Facilitating this support is Fujitsu Network Life Cycle Services, which help carriers create and extend their WiMAX footprint by utilizing planning services such as RF engineering, site acquisition and site preparation. Fujitsu also offers a full line of deployment services including installation and test/turn-up services, as well as backhaul and back-office connectivity provisioning. Fujitsu can also monitor and maintain carriers’ wireless network at its Network Operations Center (NOC), which enables carriers to maintain full visibility to the inner workings of their networks.

“As one of the founding board members of the WiMAX Forum, Fujitsu has contributed greatly to the development and standardization of WiMAX,” said Ray Abrishami, senior director, wireless products group, Fujitsu Microelectronics America. “Fujitsu will continue to lead the definition of this exciting new technology via our contributions to the WiMAX Forum, by developing innovative wireless systems, and working closely with our customers.”

“By building on our global expertise and strength in the 3G and WCDMA marketplace, we’re able to deliver the most comprehensive WiMAX solution to date, with products that span the development life cycle from silicon to complete systems,” said Jim Hintze, senior vice president of marketing at Fujitsu Network Communications. “In addition, we offer a complete set of professional services to assist with every phase of a wireless network from planning to deployment to maintenance so a carrier can concentrate on other areas of their business. We offer carriers a one-stop shop that can address all wireless needs from small fixed deployments to full-scale national and global networks.”

Fujitsu has formed key regional partnerships to augment development efforts and meet specific requirements of carriers around the world. In North America, for example, Fujitsu has partnered with two broadband wireless access leaders – Airspan Networks (News - Alert) for WiMAX solutions and BelAir Networks for Wi-Fi mesh solutions.

Fujitsu made news earlier this month when it announced that it has teamed up with Cisco Systems (News - Alert) to launch a four-slot model of the co-branded “Fujitsu and Cisco CRS-1” Carrier Routing System in Japan. The latest product in the Fujitsu and Cisco CRS-1 series is born out of the strategic alliance between the two companies which was announced on December 6, 2004. The new router model delivers the same 40 Gbps of switching capacity per slot as other models in the series, providing a total switching capacity of 320 Gbps in the world’s most compact 40 Gbps-per-slot chassis.

For more information, visit www.fujitsu.com or http://us.fujitsu.com/telecom or http://us.fujitsu.com/micro/wimax.

------

Patrick Barnard is Associate Editor for TMCnet and a columnist covering the telecom industry. To see more of his articles, please visit Patrick Barnard’s columnist page.

Back to WiFi Revolution home