Bitwave Semicnductor introduced the BW1102 Softransceiver(TM) RFIC, the world's first programmable CMOS RF transceiver.

The BW1102 product is fully software configurable across all channels in the frequency bands between 700 MHz and 3.8 GHz. This unique capability allows the BW1102 to be configured for multiple wireless protocols such as GSM, GPRS, EDGE, WCDMA, HSDPA, CDMA2K, EVDO, 802.11b/g and 802.16d/e. The BW1102 is a single low cost, low power chip which is being targeted at the cellular handset and femtocell markets.

The new BW1102 Softransceiver RFIC enables wireless consumer applications to seamlessly switch between multiple frequency bands and wireless communication protocols thus ensuring global connectivity for wireless devices. Using the BW1102 in wireless designs allows manufacturers to reduce component count, lower BOM costs and improve time to market. Samples of the BW1102 will begin shipping to customers during the next month and volume production shipments will begin during Q3 2008.

Additionally, the BW1102 can be reconfigured to support new bands, such as the 700 MHz band, becoming available in the U.S. in 2009, or new protocols, such as LTE, the next generation protocol in the UMTS family. The flexibility of multiple wireless bands and multiple
protocols of operation is achieved using software mode files, a first in the RFIC industry. This provides the BW1102 Softransceiver with the ability to be at the core of multiple product designs.

BitWave designed the Softransceiver to have a very small footprint and require minimal external components. The BW1102 is built on a standard digital CMOS process and is supplied in a 7x7 mm PBGA package for low cost and small size. The transceiver integrates all requisite RF,
analog, mixed-signal and digital circuitry and also includes built-in test and calibration.

Contact:
Michael Farese, CEO, BitWave, www.bitwavesemiconductor.com