Press releases from picoChip

CES 2010: Hot Topic - Femtocells

CES, Las Vegas, January 2010: Innovative British technology that improves 3G mobile phone coverage and call quality is being showcased at CES Unveiled by Bath-based picoChip. As 3G networks feel the strain of increasing traffic from smart phones, this pioneering technology will benefit users in cities and remote areas alike.

The femtocell is a small base station that plugs into a broadband connection, at home or elsewhere. Calls made from nearby mobiles bypass the existing 3G network and benefit from landline quality. picoChip is the creator of the chips used in these femtocells, which are the only real answer for mobile users indoors. Femtocells are equally useful in rural areas, built-up cities or underground, or anywhere where the 3G signal is limited.

picoChip’s world-class solution to the global problem of 3G network capacity won it a place at CES Unveiled, the pre-event media showcase at the world’s largest technology event. It was chosen by UK Trade & Investment, the government body promoting British business in international markets. As one of ten winners of a UKTI competition, it will exhibit in Las Vegas on 5 January.

Rupert Baines, VP of Marketing at picoChip, explains why the femtocell is such an important innovation:
‘The potential for this technology is huge,’ explains Rupert. ‘By plugging directly into a standard broadband connection and carrying traffic back via the internet, femtocells offer a boost to already crowded networks. As well as improving the quality of your signal – the radio link only has to go from your mobile to the femtocell in your building, rather than from your mobile to the network basestation – the technology takes the pressure off the 3G network, which now has a huge amount of data to deal with.’
For more information or for interviews with Rupert Baines, VP of Marketing at picoChip, please see contact details.
picoChip is a winner of the CES 2010 competition coordinated by UK Trade & Investment, the government body supporting UK businesses in international markets. The competition awarded ten British technology companies an exhibitor’s place at the high profile media showcase CES Unveiled, giving each one the chance to present their product or service to an audience of key international press. The winners, including picoChip, will be exhibiting in the ballroom at The Venetian, between 4-7pm on 5 January 2010.

About picoChip
picoChip is enabling the next generation of wireless infrastructure. Its picoXcell family of optimized silicon devices is the leader in the fast growing market for femtocell access points. Its picoArray family of flexible wireless processors is the leading solution for OFDMA-based network equipment, and is backed by comprehensive software support for global standards such as EDGE, HSPA, HSPA+, TD-SCDMA, WiMAX, LTE, cdma2000 and GSM. Located in Bath, UK and Beijing, China, picoChip is re-shaping mobile networks. For more information, visit www.picochip.com