BusinessWire
December 05, 2005 08:10 AM US Pacific Timezone

WiQuest Announces Industry's First Gigabit Ultrawideband Chipset; Advanced Design Enables Unprecedented Performance, New Wireless Applications

WiQuest Communications, a leading fabless semiconductor company developing complete ultrawideband (UWB) solutions, today announced the availability of its WQST110 and WQST101 chipset, the industry's first commercially-available, high-performance silicon delivering wireless communication speeds up to one gigabit-per-second. Based on the WiMedia UWB physical layer (PHY) and media access controller (MAC) specifications, the WQST110 builds upon and extends the performance capabilities of UWB communications systems to a new level, providing a solid foundation for high-speed wireless cable-replacement applications. The companion WQST101 radio frequency (RF) transceiver chip combines with the WQST110 to provide the first complete UWB solution for manufacturers of PC and peripheral systems, consumer electronics, home entertainment, portable gaming, multimedia platforms, mobile devices and more. In addition to the new chipset, WiQuest is also announcing the immediate availability of the WQST100EVK, a complete UWB system evaluation kit which contains silicon and software for customer assessment, testing and product development.

"WiQuest's gigabit-per-second UWB technology will service a burgeoning UWB market opportunity, as well as a number of exciting new wireless applications that clearly benefit from this enhanced performance boost," commented Brian O'Rourke, senior analyst, Converging Markets & Technologies Group, In-Stat.

WiQuest is leveraging and extending the significant wireless performance advantage offered by UWB. With its unprecedented gigabit-per-second wireless technology, the WQST110/101 chipset enables a new breed of applications previously considered unfeasible. No longer constrained by bandwidth or wires, consumers will quickly appreciate the benefits of this newly-found wireless performance through enjoying and sharing digital content, gaming and multimedia anytime and anywhere, without the need for connectors or a fistful of cables. The chipset also provides full compatibility with existing USB peripherals and systems, thereby protecting consumers' existing equipment investments.

Product Features

The WQST110 is a wireless CMOS integrated circuit (IC) combining baseband PHY, MAC engine, high-speed security processor, quality of service (QoS) manager and a rich variety of host interfaces, all in one highly-integrated design. Designed to optimize the UWB system bill of materials, the WQST110 contains a complete high-speed USB subsystem including controller and transceiver, removing any additional USB component cost. Unlike other UWB implementations, the WQST110 eliminates the need for expensive external memory, and the chip's innovative architecture provides excellent power control and management for longer battery life in mobile devices. This IC also implements a tightly-coupled interface with the WQST101 RF transceiver to ensure best-in-class wireless chipset performance, robustness and reliability.

"We are extremely pleased with the strong customer and industry response to our first UWB product design," commented Dr. Matthew Shoemake, WiQuest founder, CEO and president. "Due to its advanced architecture, capabilities and features, we are experiencing significant demand for our WQST110/101 chipset in a wide variety of applications."

Flexible Platform

Building on its demonstrated leadership and experience in wireless system designs including Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, the WiQuest team has architected an impressive and extensible UWB solution that supports a variety of communication services and protocols. The chip's versatile USB subsystem supports both host-side and device-side connectivity through firmware-controlled configuration management, allowing this chipset to enable a broad range of devices and applications. Coupled with WiQuest software drivers, the WQST110 is an ideal choice for all Certified Wireless USB applications.

"As a contributor to the Certified Wireless USB specification and as a member of the USB Implementers Forum, WiQuest has helped both WiMedia UWB and Certified Wireless USB become industry standards," said Jeff Ravencraft, chairman and president of the USB-IF and technology strategist for Intel. "With products from member companies like WiQuest, manufacturers will be able to quickly build and deploy a wide variety of new products based on the Certified Wireless USB technology."

The WQST110 contains the innovative WiQuest WiMAC(TM) core which delivers the benefits of a programmable architecture while minimizing cost, memory requirements and power consumption. Customers using the WQST110 can easily deploy unique features and capabilities as well as future-proof their designs without having to re-engineer their system hardware. Additionally, the WiMAC(TM) core combines with WiQuest's advanced PHY design to provide the flexibility to adapt UWB-based products to important regulatory requirements such as spectrum management and protection mechanisms for incumbent equipment and services.

Built on Standards

The WiQuest team has a significant history of developing and promoting wireless industry standards and product interoperability. As a current member of the WiMedia Advisory Board, WiQuest is an active leader and contributor in the ultrawideband standards process. The WQST110/101 chipset has been designed to conform to WiMedia specifications and compliance requirements, thereby providing customers with full industry interoperability of WiMedia features while delivering even higher performance capabilities for unique and innovative UWB applications.

"WiQuest has been a strong supporter in the development and deployment of the WiMedia specifications comprising the UWB common radio platform," said Stephen R. Wood, president, WiMedia Alliance. "Their release of this complete WiMedia-based chipset expands the UWB ecosystem and provides the industry with new wireless product opportunities, helping to drive a faster market ramp and adoption cycle."

Complete Solution

To assist customers with quick design support and system integration, WiQuest offers complete reference designs for Certified Wireless USB applications, including daughtercard modules, external plug-in 'dongles' and USB embedded device/hub implementations. These reference designs include schematics, layout details, bill of materials and design documentation. Software support packages including firmware and device drivers are available in conjunction with these hardware reference designs, which support host wired adapter (HWA), device wired adapter (DWA), dual role device (DRD), as well as Certified Wireless USB device implementations.

Ordering and Availability

WQST110 and WQST101 samples and the WQST100EVK platform are available immediately. For specific product and pricing information, email WiQuest at sales@WiQuest.com or call +1 (214) 547-1600 x 131.

About WiQuest Communications

WiQuest Communications, Inc. is a privately-held fabless semiconductor company that designs, develops and supplies complete standards-based ultrawideband solutions to PC, consumer electronics and mobile systems companies worldwide. The company is an active member of the USB Implementers Forum, the Certified Wireless USB Promoter Group and the WiMedia Alliance. WiQuest is headquartered at 601 Century Parkway, Suite 110, Allen, Texas 75013. The WiQuest Taiwan office is located at 23F., No. 105, Sec. 2, Tun Hua South Road, Da An District, Taipei City, Taiwan R.O.C. For more information, please visit http://www.WiQuest.com or send an email to info@WiQuest.com.

All brand names, trademarks or registered trademarks mentioned in this release are the property of their respective owners.