Southern Africa
Communication cable and optical fibre manufacturer ATC is investing R60m in its Brits plant to increase the production capacity of optical fibre and optical fibre cable to more than 1 million fibre kilometres (FKM) a year. The investment is placing ATC in a strong position to capitalise on the global surge in demand for optical fibre cable.
Grintek Telecom has been appointed distributor for ParaGea Communications, a market leader in VSAT (very small aperture terminal) network technology. According to Gustav Engelbrecht, Grintek Telecom, ParaGea was originally a part of COMSAT, specialising in voice compression technology. He said the company brings a number of innovative systems to the satellite communication market and is backed by almost 20 years of experience. ParaGea products include the TerraVoice VSAT system for high volume voice communications. It features a compression ratio of up to 20:1 compared to the 8:1 achieved by conventional systems, which ensures a high level of efficiency. The TerraSat II is a high-performance voice/fax/data communications solution for remote areas lacking a conventional land-based PSTN infrastructure. Engelbrecht says it offers great potential for Africa as a whole, in particular for telecom operators looking to implement effective rural telephony systems.
Spescom will be introducing what it calls the 'newsroom of the future' at this year's Media Technical Africa show at the end of May. Through alliances with Sony, Leitch and Avid Technology, Spescom's broadcast division offers specialised communications solutions to the SA broadcast market. Its products include acquisition and production equipment for both electronic news-gathering and in-studio application, post-production and presentation equipment.
Siemens and Vodacom Tanzania have signed a network support and maintenance agreement, valued at $12m, over a two-year contract period. Siemens says the contract gives it full responsibility for the running and quality maintenance of the network, and commences 1 April. Commercial operation of the Vodacom Tanzania network began six months ago and has since signed up about 80 000 subscribers.
Spescom Telecommunications has announced the formation of the DC (direct current) Power Solution Group, focusing on the supply and maintenance of telecommunications power solutions. Alan Holloway, Spescom's Communications Solutions Group CEO says that the new group will address an important derivative of the access network market in that every piece of telecommunications infrastructure requires rectified power. Etienne van der Westhuizen and Wouter Vink have been appointed as Business Development Manager and Product Manager respectively. The core components of the product range incorporate products utilising technology from Rectifier Technologies Pacific (RTP), an Australian-based company with an established reputation in the SA telecoms market.
VELOCIT-e has signed a local partnership agreement with Ubizen, a worldwide provider of e-Security solutions, as part of its move to 'ramp up' its presence in the local e-commerce security market. Acccording to Charles Laxton, CEO of VELOCIT-e, on-line security in the e-business world is one of the most important market sectors - be it via smartcard-based encryption technology or biometrics. Although VELOCIT-e offers its own software solutions for the e-security market, including biometrics, it says it believes a partnership with Ubizen allow the adoption of a best-of-breed approach to local implementations. Laxton said the new partnership is expected to have a material affect on the company's revenues during the next 24 months. Ubizen markets and sells the MultiSecure Internet security products.
BICSI has announced that Eugene Botes, Sales Executive for Molex Premise Networks' SA office, is the first person in South Africa to successfully complete the RCDD examination. Botes completed the RCDD training and examination at CableNet in the UK. According to BICSI, some 80 telecom- munications professionals in Europe, and 5200 worldwide, have achieved the Registered Communications Distribution Designer qualification (RCDD). The RCDD is a qualification for individuals who have shown extensive expertise in the design, integration and implementation of telecommunications systems and components.
Distribution Component Systems ( www.dcsjhb.co.za) has moved office to: Fairland Park, 200 Smit Street, Fairland, Johannesburg. Tel: (011) 478 1255, fax (011) 478 1246, e-mail: [email protected]. The postal and e-mail addresses remain unchanged.
Overseas
Business
Dallas Semiconductor has announced that it expects first quarter revenues to be down approximately 30% compared to the $130,1m reported for fourth quarter 2000. According to Chao C. Mai, President and CEO, current market conditions were responsible for low turns orders, order cancellations, and rescheduling. He said that broad-based efforts by its customer base to reduce inventories negatively impacted results. Dallas Semiconductor is in the process of being acquired by Maxim.
PMC-Sierra has announced it will cut its workforce by 13% or 230 employees, due to a sharp decline in sales and orders for broadband communications ICs. The company also reduced its estimate for revenues in the first quarter to $118 to 120m - a 56% sequential drop from $231,7m in the fourth quarter of 2000. PMC-Sierra also said it plans to close several design centres but said it is continuing expansion of its product offerings for communications and networking markets this year.
Companies
LSI Logic intends to acquire C-Cube Microsystems for $878m to expand its product offering for communications, digital set-top boxes, and other entertainment applications. According to the company the acquisition will strengthen its position in consumer electronics applications by adding C-Cube's video compression technologies - including MPEG. The merger is intended to provide a complete portfolio of technologies for high-growth cable, satellite, terrestrial and DSL set-top box markets, said the companies.
Lattice Semiconductor has acquired Integrated Intellectual Property (I2P). I2P is a provider of ASIC and IP cores for use in communications, networking, and embedded processor systems. The acquisition will enhance Lattice's IP development efforts, said Cyrus Y. Tsui, President and Chief Executive of Lattice.
Intel is acquiring German storage controller company, ICP Vortex Computersysteme for an undisclosed amount. The purchase will give Intel gains quick access entry into a range of I/O storage controller markets. ICP develops and sells a line of 32 bit/33 MHz and 64 bit/64 MHz chips for PCI-SCSI, PCI-Ultra SCSI, PCI-Fibre Channel, and related applications.
Atmel and EADS Defence & Security Networks (EDSN) have expanded their alliance in 3G wireless network development with a plan to develop new platforms for all-digital 'professional mobile radio' applications. The companies will cooperate in IC development for both radio and baseband domains for the 3G wireless PMR applications. The chipsets will address all the sectors of the PMR market - including emergency services, public security, and industrial sites, said the companies.
Intel has announced that it has selected IBM as the premier provider of embedded software for its wireless-processor line. Intel will integrate IBM's software to the Intel Personal Internet Client Architecture (Intel PCA), including its StrongARM and XScale processors. The two companies will also work together to deliver standard hardware and software solutions for next-generation, Internet-enabled devices.
Nokia, Motorola, Ericsson, Siemens and others have jointly endorsed a next-generation delivery protocol for cellular phones and other wireless devices. The companies announced that they will support and develop products based the XHTML (Extensible Hyper Text Markup Language) markup language. XHTML is an evolution to the Wireless Application Protocol (WAP). A number of mobile operators have also announced support for XHTML: Vodafone, Orange, Radiolinja, Sonera, DNA, Telenor, Netcom, T-Mobil, TIM, RadioMobil, and EuroTel Praha.
Industry
Dataquest has reduced its forecast for the worldwide cellular handset market by about 12% in 2001. Dataquest previously projected that the worldwide handset market would grow from 412m in terms of unit shipments in 2000, to 576m in 2001. It has since slashed the forecast to a sales growth of 506,5m units in 2001. This is a 23% increase over 2000. For 2000 worldwide mobile phone sales were up 38% over 1999.
After facing disappointing sales in 2000, players in the Internet appliance market (IA) will soon have a reason to be happy, according to Cahners In-Stat Group. It finds that the market will heat up over the next several years with sales growing over 40% per year between 2000 and 2005. The IA market consists of two product categories: Internet terminals and TV-based IAs. In-Stat says that semiconductor manufacturers will find the IA market rewarding over the next several years. Sales of IA microprocessors will jump from $18m in 2000 to $91m in 2005. Flash and DRAM sales will also rise at 5% and 27% respectively.
Stanford Resources projects the organic light-emitting diode (OLED) market to grow by 63% over the next few years, from $84m in 2001 to $1,7 bn by 2007. OLED shipments are also expected to jump from approximately 3,2m in 2001, to 195m by 2007. OLED technology has the main advantage of inexpensive manufacturing, said the group.
Motorola has announced it is cutting 4000 jobs from its Network Sector, which sells a range of wireless and broadband system products. The company said it is also cutting back capital spending in semiconductors and requiring employees to take time off. Edward Breen, the Networks Sector President said that Motorola is making tough but deliberate and strategic business decisions in order to remain competitive in the slowing economy.
Xicor has announced that it will leave the low-density, serial EEPROM business and focus on mixed-signal chips. The company has also laid off 125 employees and reduced its forecast for the quarter. Xicor said it will focus on the programmable, mixed-signal ICs, and continue to support its parallel E2PROM business. It said that this business segment generates higher gross margins. Xicor projected revenues to be down 17-19% sequentially, but due to a favourable change in product mix, expects improved earnings.
Microchip Technology has announced it has won an amended judgment against Taiwan's Syntek Semiconductor, which will have to pay court costs and attorney's fees in a microcode copyright case. The case relates to copyright violation on the PIC16C5x microcode for microcontrollers.
Scotland's Simutech is offering a new service for designers to download and evaluate intellectual-property (IP) chip cores over the Internet. Dubbed eValab, the 'try before you buy' IP brokerage service SoC development is being jointly run by Simutech, the Scottish Enterprise, and the Alba Centre in Livingston, Scotland. The service can be accessed via portals from IP or ASIC vendors.
Samsung Semiconductor has announced that it has surpassed the $1 bn sales mark for chips based on Rambus's DRAM (RDRAM) technology, and plans to quadruple its RDRAM shipments in 2001. Samsung said it hopes to garner 50% of the RDRAM-based memory business in terms of market share.
Iridium Satellite LLC has announced that the 66-satellite network the system is being re-instated, almost a year after commercial service was switched off. Iridium Satellite paid $25m to acquire the system, which cost Motorola and other investors more than $5 bn to develop.
US wireless providers are making a mistake by casting wide marketing nets for their data and Internet services, believes Cahners In-Stat Group. According to the research firm carriers should target market user niches with tailored applications and marketing. Business users have been first to adopt wireless data and Internet services, but with a population of more than 250m in the US, it says the consumer market has barely been penetrated. There are over 109m US wireless phone service subscribers and over 60m households with Internet access, estimates the group. The numbers indicate demand should be significant, but said that it only represents just half a percent of all US wireless subscribers. To boost this, providers must promote simple-to-use applications that users find valuable in addition to offering flat rate pricing.
The first of a pair of digital audio broadcast satellites, the XM-1 satellite, nicknamed 'Rock', has been launched into orbit. The launch of the second XM satellite, 'Roll' is currently planned for May. Washington-based XM hopes to begin the transmission of up to 100 channels of radio programming to US subscribers, and is aimed at motorists, who will use special radios to receive the satellite broadcasts.
Technology
Researchers at Motorola Labs have demonstrated a new liquid crystal display technology that electrically tunes reflective LCDs for brightness and colour in portable products. The display mechanism, which Motorola calls 'electrically tunable colour' or ETC, uses an in-plane electrical field to change the colour of light reflected from a cholesteric liquid crystal material between two glass plates. According to Motorola the distance between the successive rings of the cholesteric crystal molecules determines what colour of light is reflected by the liquid crystal material. Motorola says the technology significantly improves the appearance of colour reflective LCDs, which have not been embraced by consumers because the displays cannot deliver rich colour, high contrast, and brightness.
Intense Photonics, a Scottish company, targeting the emerging market for monolithic photonics ICs, has debuted prototype pump lasers that demonstrate the performance potential of unique quantum well intermixing (QWI) process. QWI allows multi-function devices to be fabricated without employing standard regrowth techniques. The company demonstrated the technology at the Optical Fibre Conference, with an innovative design for 980 nm EDFA pump laser ICs for existing DWDM applications. The ICs incorporate nonabsorbing mirror structures on device facets that boost optical power and reliability by minimising catastrophic optical mirror damage. Intense Photonics claims it has fabricated EDFA pump lasers that offer powers of up to 500 mW - close to double the output of today's commercial products.
Ramtron claims to have developed the industry's first nonvolatile memory product with 'unlimited endurance' for read and write cycles. Ramtron is aiming the new 256 KB ferroelectric RAM at replacing low-power SRAMs. The company's 256 KB FRAM - FM18L08 - has an endurance rating of at least 10 quadrillion read/write cycles, claims Ramtron. The nonvolatile storage cell is made with zirconium titanium (PZT). According to the company each memory location in the 256 KB FRAM could be accessed one million times per second, for more than three hundred years, without loss of data retention.
STMicroelectronics has introduced two new LCD drivers that integrate complete controller and driver functions for 65-by-128 column black-and-white graphic LCDs According to the company its goal is to become a one-stop shop for display driving solutions. The STE2000 and STE2001 contain all of the circuits needed to control and drive displays, including graphics functions and a selectable interface for connection to I2C, serial or parallel ports. No external components are required.
Bill Gates unveiled the Tablet PC at the recent Windows Hardware Engineering conference in California. Microsoft's next-generation wireless device intended to merge a PC's computing power with the mobility of an information appliance. A full-function, slate-like computer, Tablet features the new Windows XP operating system and takes advantage of a pen-based input in the form of Digital Ink. The devices will be powered by both Intel and Transmeta microprocessors and initially manufactured by Acer, Compaq, Fujitsu, Sony and Toshiba. Microsoft stressed that the Tablet is not a 'Companion' device but a real PC.
Texas Instruments has unveiled three new DSP devices, including what it claims is the industry's smallest programmable DSP controller for embedded use. The TMS320LF2401A DSP controller with 40 MIPS DSP core has a high level of system integration. TI said the 0,25 µm DSP controller is housed in a 7-by-7 mm, low-profile quad flatpack (LQFP). The 3,3 V LF2401A features 8 kwords of flash memory with code security. Also available on chip are 1 kwords of RAM as well as boot-up ROM. Peripherals include 10 bit five-channel ADC, event manager, a serial communications interface, watchdog timer, and 13 general-purpose I/O channels. In addition to the 'LF2401A, TI's two other new DSP controllers, the 'LF2403A and 'LC2402A are aimed at more demanding, space-constrained applications.
Toshiba's high-voltage BiCD process is being used in its new motor driver device, the TB62209F, which integrates a selectable mixed decay mode (SMDM) function to reproduce a waveform of an output electric current. This technology helps produce motor driver chips with two-thirds less power consumption. The integrated function eliminates the need for an additional controller in motor drives and allows the device to change performance based on the application's requirements, said the company. Usually ICs for micro-step motor drivers use a microcontroller to process data and achieve smooth control, but Toshiba says the new chip contains a micro-step decoder, which smooths out motor control using waveforms from clock signals. The BiCD process and integrated FET output results in low-power consumption (0,5 Ohm Ron; 40 Vmax; 1,5 A).
Yokogawa Electric says it has manufactured the industry's first 50 Gbps devices, using indium gallium phosphide (InGaP) and indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs) processes. The heterojunction bipolar transistor logic ICs and driver chip devices were developed in conjunction with Ando Electric for telecommunications measurement instruments targeted at next-generation optical communications networks.
Nova Crystal has developed a proprietary 1310 nm vertical-cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) that operates at speeds up to 10 Gbps, that can be used in metro, access, and LAN applications. The company says the devices will cost less to fabricate and package than standard edge-emitting lasers. Prototypes are delivering 7 mW of power while exhibiting single-spatial mode and single-polarisation state output. Nova Crystal believes it is the first to demonstrate a practical solution for a 10 Gbps VCSEL source-enabling VCSELs to successfully penetrate further into the optical network, and ultimately position them as replacements for the distributed feedback (DFB) lasers that currently dominate long-haul applications.
Infineon Technologies has developed a telecom chipset that integrates voice and full-rate ADSL services on a single line card. The IVAX chipset targets ADSL applications in access network and digital loop carrier systems. Infineon says the new chip set eliminates the need for splitters on the network side of communications and it facilitates 'mass provisioning' of ADSL services. The IVAX chip set is being promoted as the first integrated, 8-channel POTS (plain old telephone service) and ADSL transceiver solution.
PMC-Sierra has rolled out a chipset to allow OEMs to consolidate a range of voice, video, and data services on a single platform on the network. The new Chess-II chipset can channelise and aggregate data at speeds of up to 10 Gbps (OC-192). It also enables sub-wavelength cross-connections in the network, thereby enabling a new class of equipment called multi-service provisioning platforms (MSPPs). The CHESS-II chipset includes several devices - the PM5317 Spectra, which integrates a SONET/SDH framer and pointer processor on the same device; the PM5307, a groomer/serialiser device; the PM5374, a 160 Gbps, STS-1 cross-connect device; and the PM5395, a clock and data recovery unit.
The New Internet Computer Company (NIC), San Franscisco, has announced a new low-cost PC based on an x86-based microprocessor from Taiwan's Via Technologies. The $199,99 system is claimed to bridge the gap between a full-blown PC and Internet appliance. It is based on the VIA Cyrix MI PR266 processor and the OS is NIC's own OS v2.0.
© Technews Publishing (Pty) Ltd | All Rights Reserved
printer friendly version