Femtocell Connection Eyed For Next-Gen LTE Wireless

Cambridge Consultants and picoChop are collaborating to optimize picoChip's pC960x LTE development platform to deploy LTE femtocells. With LTE just beginning to be deployed in the U.S., users of the high-speed, next-generation cellphone technology can look forward to eventually tapping into LTE networks through femtocells.

"As the femtocell market heats up our customers are turning to us to provide platforms that help them get to market faster with ever greater degrees of differentiation," said David Maidment, director of product management at picoChip. "Cambridge Consultants has been invaluable to us in enabling us to offer a range of extra features and capabilities based on our core technology."

In its inaugural U.S. rollout, LTE began rolling out in Las Vegas in recent days in a deployment sponsored by MetroPCS. A major deployment is scheduled to take place in 25 to 30 urban areas by Verizon Wireless by the end of the year.

Spectrum used by LTE is not expected to be strained for several months, but as smartphones and laptops equipped for LTE are increasingly deployed, femtocells can help relieve the spectrum crunch. Most other carriers are expected to gradually move to LTE. AT&T is scheduled to begin deploying its LTE network next year.

As the world's first cellular standard expected to achieve global acceptance, LTE technology is expected to enable carriers to expand their mobile broadband offerings to reach a wider range of customers.

As a pioneering full hardware and software LTE development platform, the PC960x is aimed at accelerating time to market of small form factor LTE products, picoChip and Cambridge Consultants noted.

FURTHER READING: AT&T Intros MicroCell Femtocell Device Femtocell Deployments Growing Rapidly Verizon Certifies LTE Devices