Atmel Corporation, a developer of advanced semiconductor solutions, and IPWireless have collaborated wiith an unnamed Equipment Manufactures (OEM), to develop a UMTS TDD mobile handset.
The companies claim the mobile handset will allow UMTS TDD network operators to offer carrier-grade mobile voice over IP (VoIP) services, in addition to existing broadband and other packet based services, on their converged networks.
IPWireless and Atmel say they have already completed the first successful transmission of a call from a mobile VoIP handset over UMTS TDD, which would be an important milestone in the development of commercial UMTS TDD handsets.
IPWireless’s says the support of its latest UMTS TD software for both dedicated and shared channels means operators would be able to deliver circuit-switched quality while enjoying packet-based system economic benefits.
They also claim users would experience the same quality of voice service they expect from traditional mobile phones. In addition, the handset’s USB port allows users to connect it to computers or other devices and use it as a high-speed broadband modem.
The UMTS TDD VoIP handset will use Atmel’s AT76C902 VoIP system-on-a-chip as the main processor, with the IPWireless TDD Module performing the UMTS TDD modem functions. The AT76C902, running the VoIP protocol software, voice compression and decompression, also provides the phone’s application functions for control of the keypad, LCD, speaker and user interface. Prototypes will be ready by the end of 2004 with commercial availability in mid-2005.