Wavesat samples Mobile WiMAX, Wi-Fi, XG-PHS multi-mode chipset

Wavesat today introduced its new family of 4G Broadband Wireless chipset named Odyssey, with a multi-mode 4G architecture enabling WiMAX Wave2, Wi-Fi, XG-PHS and seamless migration to future 4G technologies such as LTE.

The first product in the Odyssey family, the Odyssey 8500, is powered by a multi-core architecture incorporating multiple ultra low power DSPs, offering flexibility, high performance and low power consumption, without any trade off. The SOC manufactured using advanced Embedded DRAM technology requires no external memory, thus saving customers valuable real estate, cost and power consumption for very small form-factor portable and mobile applications such as wireless USB dongle, mobile handsets and other consumer electronic devices.

“The Odyssey 8500 chipset is not just another high performance mobile Wave 2 WiMAX chipset; it is a completely new generation of silicon positioned to address the entire 4G broadband market, ” said Raj Singh, President & CEO of Wavesat. “WiMAX is the first step in the 4G continuum of wireless broadband and as such, manufacturers and operators need access to a technology that can help them leverage the investment into future 4G technology development.”

The Odyssey 8500 offers:

* 4G - The chipset features Wavesat’s 4G Engine, a unique programmable architecture enabling Mobile WiMAX Wave 2 and beyond, as well as Wi-Fi, XG-PHS and future migration to 4G Broadband Wireless technologies such as LTE.
* Power - A unique architecture based on multiple ultra low power DSPs maximizes power efficiency with the chip power consumption below 150 mW for mobile WiMAX MIMO solution in active receive mode, and less than 2 mW in idle mode.
* Small - The integrated memory (DRAM) enables industry’s smallest footprint suitable for development of highly integrated consumer devices. Product roadmap also includes a single chip combining baseband processor, radio and memory.
* Speed - A customized PowerPC processor (up to 400 MHz) is embedded in the chipset enabling higher throughput and providing the power required for the WiMAX Wave 2 profile, including MIMO.
* Complete Solution - The solution includes complete MAC and management software, as well as “ready-to-manufacture” reference designs, shortening customers’ time to market.

Vijay Dube, Wavesat’s Executive VP Marketing added, “The Odyssey 8500 is being used by a broad base of lead customers to develop multimode broadband wireless devices. Wavesat’s extensive internal testing in addition to the testing we have conducted with our operator partners, provides our customers with the confidence that their development efforts can remain focused on delivering their products quickly to market.”

The Odyssey 8500 is sampling now with production quantities expected to ship by Q3 ‘08.