Multi-Mode WiMAX/LTE chips to hit markets in 2009
Next year will see the introduction of a new class of wireless communications chip that features dual-mode support for both WiMAX and LTE (Long Term Evolution), according to analysts ABI Research. The demand for the chips will come from those wireless device makers seeking the economies of scale that come from creating devices that support both 4G standards.
“Some mobile operators are showing interest in dual-mode chipsets,” says ABI Research principal analyst Philip Solis, “and they are backing it with cash. Vodafone, for example, has a foot in both WiMAX and LTE camps. They will use LTE in industrialised regions, and WiMAX in developing nations. In Japan, KDDI may deploy LTE on its own, but as an investor (along with Intel and others) in WiMAX operator UQ Communications, KDDI has an interest in both standards.”
These dual-mode chips will be suitable for all mobile devices, although given that most of the early usage of both LTE and WiMAX will be for data transmission, USB modems, portable computers and “netbooks” are likely to be the first products to include the dual-mode chips.
“Because WiMAX networks will be deployed sooner than LTE, for competitive reasons these dual-mode chips are generally being created by WiMAX chip vendors, particularly the smaller, more agile ones,” Solis notes.
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