Unlicensed Mobile Access (UMA) semiconductor reference design that makes it
easy for mobile handset manufacturers to bring UMA-enabled phones to their
customers. The new UMA reference design, announced by Royal Phillip
Electronics creates a blueprint for a mobile phone that accesses GSM and GPRS
mobile services through traditional cellular networks to automatically switch
over to WLAN access points. This gives mobile phone customers added
flexibility for advanced phone services as their phones detect the fastest and
most cost-effective network without interruptions. If a phone is taken out of
the WLAN range, it seamlessly switches back to the cellular network. According
to Phillips, the new reference design is one of the lowest-power 802.11g SiP.
Philips is working closely with Alcatel, a leading provider of
communications solutions, on interoperability tests between UMA handsets based
on the Philips Nexperia UMA reference design and the Alcatel 5020 Spatial
Atrium mobile call server/softswitch. The Alcatel switching solution enables
service providers to extend customer roaming capabilities as they switch
between cellular networks and WLAN access points. Alcatel's customers include
global telecommunications carriers, internet service providers and
enterprises.
Philips' complete UMA reference design features the industry's lowest-power
802.11g WLAN system-in-a-package (SiP) for connections to WLAN access points.
The low-power characteristics of this semiconductor solution are extremely
important to mobile phone applications, where customers do not want to have
their talk-time jeopardized by other power-hungry applications. The UMA
switching capability is based on software from industry leader Kineto
Wireless. These features are added to the proven Philips Nexperia™ Cellular
System Solution 6120 for a complete reference design that allows manufacturers
to quickly manufacture UMA phones without the delays associated with the
extensive testing required for carrier-quality mobile phones.
"We have combined our new low-power 802.11g technology and Kineto's
industry-leading UMA switching technology with our Nexperia Cellular System
Solution to create a powerful mobile phone reference design that makes it easy
for people to take advantage of advanced phone services," said Gert-Jan
Kaat, senior vice president, Business Unit Mobile Communications, Philips
Semiconductors. "Our new UMA reference design is optimized for
performance, scalability and ease-of-deployment, with the ability to make it
simple for mobile users to connect to voice, data and entertainment
services."
"Philips is a leader in bringing complete reference designs to market
that makes it easy for mobile handset manufacturers to offer high-quality
products to their customers," said Mark Powell, vice president and
founder of Kineto Wireless. "The low power aspect of the 802.11g solution
is unlike any other capability available in the market today and should
encourage the rapid adoption and deployment of UMA-compliant cell
phones."
The Nexperia 6120 System Solution supports a wide variety of multimedia
applications and includes the state-of-the-art GSM/GPRS/EDGE mobile platform,
an RF baseband transceiver, a power amplifier, a power management unit and a
battery charger. This complete solution provides mobile handset manufacturers
with an easy and cost-effective way to bring advanced multimedia mobile
features to their customers.
Kineto's UMA Client Software is added to the Nexperia 6120 System Solution
in this reference design to give mobile phones the ability to roam seamlessly
between mobile networks and WLANs. When combined with Philips' new low-power
802.11g WLAN SiP, the advantages of UMA become readily apparent. The 802.11g
SiP enables mobile phone users to access voice, data and multimedia services
through WLAN networks up to five times faster than current 802.11b products,
without compromising the battery life of mobile phones. The complete reference
design offers mobile phone manufacturers quicker time-to-market in a
cost-effective manner.
