Renesas Mobile slashes cost of supporting LTE
Announces one of the first smartphone basebands to support LTE and HSPA in one chip, targeting 4G devices priced as low as $150
Published: 15 February, 2012
READ MORE: Japan | Semiconductor | LTE
Renesas Mobile has announced one of the industry's first integrated multimode basebands, capable of supporting LTE and HSPA(+) in one chip, which could significantly reduce the cost of 4G handsets.
The MP5232 targets devices priced between $150 and $300, between half and one-quarter of the price of most early LTE smartphones, such as the Samsung, LG, HTC and Motorola models offered on Verizon's network. Most 4G devices currently require separate basebands for 2G/3G, adding to cost and size. That was cited by Apple as a reason to delay an LTE iPhone, since the first generation chipsets would compromise the slimline size of the handset and drain battery.
Renesas, which owns Nokia's former modem operations, said its chip supports multimode FDD and TDD-LTE Category 4 links and does require a separate applications processor. It will sample before April. There will also be reference designs which include the firm's 1.5GHz dual-core apps processor, for higher end handsets.
The company did not provide details on the cost, size or power consumption of the new baseband but it will be valuable to the new Japanese SoC joint venture which the Renesas parent firm is forming with Fujitsu and Panasonic, in the latest move to try to create a counterweight to Korea's Samsung. Renesas was a minor player in handset silicon outside its native OEM base until it bought Nokia's modem operations and vowed to become a challenger to Qualcomm and ST-Ericsson.
A strong play for LTE handsets, once they hit the mass market stage, will be a good start. "We are seeing a number of $600+ LTE superphone devices being launched in the market, but the industry needs a wider penetration of LTE devices for the business case for LTE to pay off," said Renesas Mobile's CTO Jean-Marie Rolland in a statement.
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