California- and Bangalore-based Beceem Communications Inc. announced that it has raised $20 million in Series C funding to accelerate development of its mobile WiMax chipset and help the startup stake a claim in one of the hottest wireless markets around.
Founded in October 2003 by executives of DSL chipmaker Centillium Communications Inc. (Nasdaq: CTLM), Beceem is relatively well known in WiMax circles but has declined until now to discuss its plans publicly.
OFDMA is fast emerging as the leading radio interface likely to be used in the next generation of two-way mobile wireless systems. Providers expect OFDMA to offer greater spectral efficiency and superior resistance to multipath than the CDMA (code division multiple access) technology used in 3G wireless systems today. (See All Hail OFDMA!)
Lars Johnsson, vice president of business development at Beceem, says an OFDMA network could give up to 35 percent better performance than a current-generation 3G network, if deployed over an equivalent footprint in similar frequencies and channel widths. “It’s really a quantum leap [forward],” says Johnsson.
Such claims go to the heart of the simmering rivalry between mobile WiMax and 3G in the battle for positioning in the mobile industry. It remains unclear how and when this power-play will resolve itself.
Beceem shipped its first engineering samples, described as a basic OFDMA/TDD (time-division duplex) implementation, six months ago. In field testing, the devices are said to support handoffs at up to 100km an hour, even though, as Johnsson puts it, “a lot of players dismissed TDD as a mobile technology.” Most mobile systems use frequency-division duplex.
The next chipset version will arrive in the first quarter of 2006, with a third version six to nine months after that. These subsequent generations will support smart antenna processing, making MIMO (multiple-input/multiple-output) capabilities in handhelds a realistic target for the second half of 2006, says Johnsson. Beceem’s chief technology officer, Professor Arogyaswami Paulraj, is an acknowledged expert in smart antenna processing from his time at Stanford University.
Johnsson adds that the underlying chipset technology supports the multiple frequencies and channel widths that are expected to underpin mobile WiMax deployments.
Beceem employs around 30 at its headquarters in Santa Clara, Calif., along with 70 developers at its R&D center in Bangalore, India.
Although the startup has not yet disclosed any customers, sources say Beceem, along with Runcom Technologies Ltd., has provided user-terminal chipsets for Samsung’s WiBro trials in Korea (see Runcom Races Into Mobile WiMax). The presence of Samsung Ventures as lead investor in the round appears to confirm Samsung as an early-stage Beceem customer.
Seriously, the barriers to WiMax adoption that you point out are, I think, well made.
Not to trivialize it, but look how long it took 3G to get where it is today. WiMax might be able to shorten the cycle a bit, but it's still a huge undertaking.
Back to the 50,000 ft level (sorry), WiMax is being driven by the "disenfranchised" vendors, operators, and, yes, nations that want something that isn't GSM or CDMA.
for some positive notes, since I always seem to be reacting negatively to crap PR, and before I am accused of being an agent for QCOM (again):
- OFDM/OFDMA is a great evolutionary technology and will be applied to wide-area mobility in one way or another in the future
- for startup silicon vendors, Sequans seems to have more right, in the broad sense, than anyone else, Runco has a lot of experience and is aggressive but tied up a bit too much in Korea.
- Intel obviously has bit down hard and has the money to keep this alive for a long time, directly & indirectly
- while spectrum, consumer demand, cost, 3G, etc., are all major issues, NextNet/Clearwire are moving and may prove a business case, Airspan has a good portfolio of products on paper need to translate fully and win customers. Alvarion has customers, not sure they translate well, and they seem to be lagging in technology. Major telecom OEMs are either waiting to see or filling a possible portfolio gap, but in the end they will make or break it (spectrum, etc., aside).
- Mobility is interesting, albeit still is search of killer data applications, a new spark could be explosive for OFDM/A / WiMAX. Fixed is stagnant, no growth.
Well I did make a blanket statement. Yes Runcom has custom silicon, they have been around a long long time, just much of the WiBRO (or .16e) spec it implements I do not know (perhaps more than anyone else though).
I would bet money that Beceem does not have custom silicon and that the 'engineering samples' quoted in PR are fpga based.
What makes them different? They’re sampling 802.16e user-terminal silicon and have conducted field trials in Korea.
>> Semantics? The PR said “Beceem shipped its first engineering samples, described as a basic OFDMA/TDD (time-division duplex) implementation, six months ago.”
>> FPGA-based no doubt, but not custom silicon…1Q06 maybe. >> Also define 802.16e? given the IEEE spec was just ratified and WiMAX Forum has not established profiles? FPGA implementation or proto of WiBro spec/profile, kinda/sorta, I can believe. Work in progress for sure.
Who else can do this today? (Runcom, Beceem, and …?)
>> FPGA – just about everyone in the game depending on definition of .16e/WiBRO >> Custom silicon? – no one to my knowledge
>> PR also said “The next chipset version will arrive in the first quarter of 2006, with a third version six to nine months after that. These subsequent generations will support smart antenna processing,…” believe this is mostly the target for custom silicon (1Q06). Sounds consistent with other vendors. With next rev 6-9 months later with smart antenna technology. Again sounds like a common timeline.
Also, the article referred to MIMO capabilities by H2 2006 – that sounds like differentiation! (if they can deliver).
>> is it? Too generic for me to say – and define MIMO or AAS? What about the nearly simultaneous announcement of Arraycomm/Samsung agreement? It said BS only but clearly SS/BS need close coordination. What about TeleCIS & Arraycomm? TeleCIS engineering staff is reportedly nearly all ex-Samsung from Korea and there was/is (?) reported some relationship (previous history of licensing IP to Samsung).
>> Wonder about the Paulraj (Gigabit Wireless/IOSpan) ties to Arraycomm or even Airgo? Old students in these places? Has he got something better? – but why then the Samsung / Arraycomm announcement?
The way the strategy was described to me, was to lead on capabilities and performance, and then optimize for power, size, etc later.
>> all very high-level. All the silicon vendors have this common high-level message. Where is some meat?
Not trying to give a personal opinion here. Just trying to clarify the article.
>> cool – I am still looking for the beef.
The Samsung connection is interesting – obviously.
If Samsung is serious about this WiBro/WiMax thing, it makes sense to have stakes in the companies developing the core technologies. No? >> Of course. Seems they are laying bets in a lot of places. So are LG/Nortel, Intel, etc., etc.
The interesting thing about Samsung is that they have sourced chipsets from both Runcom and Beceem, and also seem to have at least one (rumored to be two) 802.16e/WiBro chipset development teams internally. So one has to wonder how long their Samsung client relationship will last...
>> Interesting input. “Sourced chipsets” is a bit generous however.
>> Funding is good/interesting but I am still left, given the absence of any real information or claims to technology advantages, etc. wondering what it is that they are doing that is differentiated from any other vendor?
The interesting thing about Samsung is that they have sourced chipsets from both Runcom and Beceem, and also seem to have at least one (rumored to be two) 802.16e/WiBro chipset development teams internally. So one has to wonder how long their Samsung client relationship will last...
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