Product category:
Communications ICs (Wired)
News Release from: Comtech AHA Corp | Subject: 2Kbit Astro LE
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial
Team on 02 March 2001
Cost-effective forward error correction
Advanced Hardware Architectures (AHA) has developed what it claims is the most cost effective forward error correction (FEC) integrated circuit ever produced.
Advanced Hardware Architectures (AHA) has developed what it claims is the most cost effective forward error correction (FEC) integrated circuit ever produced, bringing additional speed and performance via increased bandwidth to consumer applications such as wireless Internet access The latest addition to AHA's family of FEC products, the 2Kbit Astro LE, is targeted at a $5 selling price, and operates at standard channel rates of up to 35Mbit/s
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 7 Apr 2003 at 8.00am (UK)
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Based on the company's groundbreaking Turbo Product Code (TPC) technology, the Astro LE chips dramatically outperform existing Reed-Solomon/Viterbi technology.
"Consumers are no longer satisfied with slow Internet connections and wired options", comments Garik Markarian, AHA's Vice President of Coding Technologies and UK Managing Director: "Demand for high-bandwidth wireless Internet access is growing exponentially, and achieving high-speed Internet access cost-effectively is a critical milestone that design engineers must reach in the race to develop next-generation wireless solutions".
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AHA's Astro LE chips will be designed into modems for use in high-speed wireless Internet access applications, including point-to-multipoint terrestrial and satellite connections.
The chips are also designed for next-generation power-line modems, which will allow the development of home or business networks through standard electrical outlets.
In addition, these chips are ideal for wireless local loop applications, bringing high-bandwidth wireless access to areas that cannot be economically serviced by traditional phone lines.
Unlike cable or DSL Internet access solutions, wireless solutions are not hindered by central office distance limitations, squeezed by bandwidth tariffs or compromised by multiple users on the same cable.
With wireless communications, users can access the Internet independently, quickly and efficiently.
"Our Turbo Product Code technology brings forward error correction out of R and D and into the mass market", says Pat Owsley, AHA's president and CEO: "Our earlier chips have made a huge impact on bandwidth capability in the commercial end of this market.
We see an excellent opportunity unfolding in the next-generation solutions for wireless Internet access.
With the Astro LE chips, these consumer applications can now benefit from the tremendous leap in performance that our TPC technology provides.
This is the best price/performance available anywhere".
The Astro LE chips incorporate AHA's patented TPC technology, delivering up to 3dB of additional coding gain over current solutions such as Reed Solomon/Viterbi coding.
This coding gain translates into a range of options that allow designers to increase capabilities or decrease system cost to best fit their application.
With an Astro LE chip, designers can reduce required bandwidth, increase throughput or reduce transmitter power by a factor of two.
Alternatively, designers can opt to increase range by 40%, reduce antenna size by 30%, or reduce the required noise figure of the receiver by 3dB.
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