MEX

Analog Devices has announced plans to develop a complete EDGE platform for mobile devices using software from TTPCom.

EDGE (Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution) has been dubbed a 2.75G technology, sitting between GPRS and W-CDMA on the GSM evolution path. It offers transfer rates of up to 473 Kbs and has been chosen by some network operators, primarily in the Americas, as part of their network upgrade strategies. Analog’s platform will include RF transceiver, analog interface, power management technology and DSP baseband processor. It will be available in 2003 and will be aimed at device manufacturers who want to include EDGE capabilities in their units without the investing resources in the development of compatible radio technology. TTPCom, the British mobile communications developer, is supplying the systems software.

“EDGE enables a carrier to provide higher data rates and 3G-like services to subscribers today since the majority of GSM/GPRS wireless infrastructure currently being deployed has been designed with EDGE capability. EDGE is widely-regarded as a low-cost evolutionary standard on the way to Universal Mobile Telecommunications Service (UMTS) or 3G,” said Christian Kermarrec, vice president, RF and wireless systems, Analog Devices, Inc. “TTPCom’s software expertise is a perfect complement to ADI’s Blackfin DSP, mixed signal, RF and power management technologies and together we provide a solution for the EDGE market.”