Icera takes HSDPA lead, says report

EE Times Europe

June 29, 2007

LONDON - Independent research suggests that British wireless technology specialist Icera's HSDPA device and chipset outperform parts from much larger rivals such as Qualcomm and Ericsson Mobile Platforms in terms of data throughput for commercially available devices.

The tests, based on 3GPP approved profiles, were performed by U.S. consultancy Signals Research Group LLC working in conjunction with Spirent Communications, who provided the automated test equipment and engineering support.

Signals Research highlighted that only a limited number of Category 6 3.6 Mbits/second HSDPA solutions are currently available. As well Icera's Livanto ICE8020 Adaptive Wireless device, others tested included devices and chipsets from Motorola, Nokia and Qualcomm. A pre-commercial Ericsson Mobile Platforms (EMP) U350 platform was also tested as was the "next generation" Qualcomm MSM7200 chipset which has not yet been released in a commercial product.

Commenting on the HSPDA performance tests, Michael Thelander, CEO of Signals Research Group said: "Under a number of realistic network conditions there is a substantial performance difference between HSDPA devices and chipsets from different suppliers."

The results indicate the part from Icera (Bristol, England) delivers a two-fold performance advantage. The device relies on simultaneous equalization and receive diversity capabilities, and the only solution which came close on performance was a "yet to be released" solution from Qualcomm, which supports similar capabilities.

Stan Boland CEO and President of Icera said in a statement: "We are delighted that the Signals Research independent evaluation has validated that our first generation solution is leading the way ahead for the cellular industry. We predict this gap in performance advantage will only grow as we push the envelope further with our Adaptive Wireless soft modem technology."