Wavesat, the smallest of the
three most prominent developers of WiMAX ICs, has announced availability
of its sixth generation OFDM chip, the DM256, very close to its target
date.
This, the first shipping product to comply with the IEEE 802.16-2004
standard, marks a milestone in the development of
WiMAX infrastructure,
says Philip Solis, senior analyst, wireless connectivity at ABI
Research.
ABI Research's recent study, "WiMAX / 802.16: Opportunities for High
Speed Wireless Data in Enterprise, SOHO, Residential and Portable
(802.16e) Markets" assessed Wavesat's goal as "to beat Intel and Fujitsu
Microelectronics America to market and gain a first-to-market
advantage." And that is exactly what they have done.
However, this first chip is a
baseband-only unit; and while Wavesat has enlisted Atmel to build the
radio component, and is itself developing subscriber unit MAC software
and complete base station and subscriber unit reference designs, Solis
says that the Wavesat's massive competitors are breathing down its neck.
"As a smaller company," he notes, "Wavesat can be more nimble, and has
stolen this first march, but Intel and Fujitsu Microelectronics already
have secured relationships with customers who will wait until they
release their own products early next year. And when those milestones
occur, Wavesat's huge adversaries will have much greater production
capacity."
Also, Solis cautions, all the new chips must go through WiMAX
certification.
ABI Research's study profiles companies involved with WiMAX and includes
forecasts of subscribers by region in various market segments Equipment
forecasts for both BTS and CPE equipment are provided as well, including
shipments, ASPs and revenues by region, in each market segment.
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