CAMBRIDGE, Mass., April 6, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- Vanu, Inc., and BitWave Semiconductor, two leading Boston-based technology firms, today announced a joint effort to develop a series of next generation software radio solutions for wireless infrastructure and mobile devices. Vanu software-defined radio technology is flexible and portable and supports multiple waveforms on general-purpose hardware platforms. BitWave's low-cost, high-performance Softransceiver(tm) IC supports multiple wireless standards over a wide range of RF spectrum. The combined effort will focus on integrating the Vanu Anywave(tm) Base Station with the BitWave Softransceiver(tm) IC to address new small form factor applications.
The Anywave(tm) Base Station is the first multi-mode software radio base station subsystem that fully implements the base transceiver station (BTS) and base station controller (BSC) entirely in software running on industry standard computer platforms. The Anywave(tm) Base Station provides unprecedented flexibility with support for simultaneous operation of multiple existing wireless standards such as GSM, iDEN, CDMA, while offering cost effective migration to 3G and emerging standards such as WiMax. Adding functionality for new waveforms is accomplished through software downloads, not hardware upgrades, significantly reducing operating costs.
"We are extremely optimistic that integrating our Anywave(tm) software radio base station with BitWave's innovative, small form factor Softransceiver products will lead to new, flexible infrastructure solutions," stated John Winn, Vice President of Sales & Marketing at Vanu, Inc. "Combining the collective strengths of these software radio technologies will open new market opportunities."
The BitWave Softransceiver(tm) IC is the industry's first low-cost, high-performance, software-defined radio (SDR) transceiver. The Softransceiver(tm) IC offers manufacturers of cell phones, multimedia players, and laptops the opportunity to create highly flexible multi-band, multi-mode devices. A Softransceiver(tm) IC will also replace the existing transceivers required by today's macro infrastructure. The integration of the Vanu Anywave(tm) product line with the BitWave Softransceiver(tm) RFIC will enable carriers for the first time to deliver a wider variety of value-added services through flexible, low-cost and high-performance Next Generation Software Radio Infrastructure and Devices.
"The wireless telecom industry is rapidly moving toward new business models that demand access to voice and data services across heterogeneous networks. The ability for service providers to monetize this shift requires low-cost, highly scalable equipment that enables access to multi-frequency, multi-mode network environments," commented John Jackson, Director of the Yankee Group's Wireless Technologies Advisory Service. "This announcement marks a logical and complementary partnership between Vanu's Anywave(tm) software radio and BitWave's Softransceiver(tm) IC. Successful collaboration will catalyze value creation for service providers, equipment vendors, and end users in the next generation telecom services environment."
About Vanu, Inc.
Vanu, Inc. is the developer of the Anywave(tm) Base Station, the world's first U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC)-certified software radio. The Anywave Base Station affords greater flexibility than traditional radios and offers wireless network operators the ability to lower CAPEX and OPEX and to use their spectrum more efficiently. Vanu applies modern software engineering techniques to the high-speed signal processing elements at the core of wireless devices to create portable software radio applications increasing the pace of innovation in wireless devices. The company licenses software radio components and applications and provides design-consulting services to wireless OEMs, system integrators and service providers. Vanu was founded in 1998 and is based in Cambridge, Mass. www.vanu.com
About BitWave Semiconductor, Inc.
BitWave Semiconductor, Inc., is a fabless semiconductor company and the developer of the Softransceiver(tm) IC chip for the wireless industry. BitWave is implementing its patent pending software defined receiver technology in a single CMOS RFIC chip designed to enable users of standard cell phones, laptops and other mobile devices to communicate across diverse networks. Mobile devices using the Softransceiver(tm) IC can operate on multiple frequencies and communication protocols, giving consumers and businesses a broader choice of networks and services. The Softransceiver(tm) IC will allow network operators to offer services on demand and allow device manufacturers to build a single, low-cost radio that can be used in any network, anywhere. All of these benefits are achieved while decreasing the transceiver price, increasing phone battery life and increasing radio performance. BitWave Semiconductor was founded in 2003 and is based in Lowell, Mass. www.bitwavesemiconductor.com