Mobile World Congress 2016 Coverage

u-blox to Demo Narrowband IoT Technology at Mobile World Congress

u-blox will be showcasing its latest products and technologies at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona from 22-25 February 2016. They will be demonstrating a waste management route optimization system based on Narrow Band IoT technology. Narrow Band IoT (NB‑IoT) is a Low Power Wide Area (LPWA) technology that works virtually anywhere.It connects devices more simply and efficiently on already established mobile networks, and handles small amounts of fairly infrequent 2‑way data, securely and reliably. Read More

MTI Wireless Edge to Showcase Parabolic and Flat Antennas at MWC 2016

MTI Wireless Edge has announced an innovative 60 GHz and 80 GHz flat antenna technology as part of a whole new product line of high performance low cost flat antennas that cover the licensed and unlicensed Point-to-Point V-Band and E-Band applications. The range includes Commercially-of-the-Shelf 41 dBi / 44.5 dBi / 50.5 dBi parabolic dishes with OMT in E-Band. Read More

NXP Announces Strategic Initiative to Fast-Track 5G

Following the merger of NXP and Freescale, NXP Semiconductors has announced a comprehensive portfolio of low and high power RF technologies combined to address 5G demands of bandwidth, linearity, power-efficiency and small form factor solutions.

Streaming high quality video, connecting a multitude of devices, allowing real-time communications, while providing extremely low latency monitoring of any environment are just some benefits from 5G wireless. To enable these capabilities, radio architectures need to significantly evolve and utilize macro to small cell base stations that operate in frequency bands from a few hundred megahertz to tens of gigahertz. Read More

NXP and Nokia to Demonstrate Industry-First Converged 5G Wireless and Wireline Access Technology

NXP Semiconductors and Bell Labs, the industrial research division of Nokia, have announced that they are the first to create and demonstrate a universal access device that can be used to combine wireline and wireless access support. The device is capable of supporting wireline (cable, DSL/copper) and wireless (LTE, 5G) standards with a single modem. The research and collaboration between industry leaders on advanced prototype is on display at Mobile World Congress 2016.

In 2015, the companies announced plans for their collaboration in this area, and with this demonstration at MWC 2016, achieved their goal one year ahead of schedule. Read More

RFaxis Launches New Family of CMOS RF Front-End ICs for IoT

RFaxis has announced a family of industry-leading, ultra-miniature 2.4 GHz RF Front-End IC (RFeIC™) products for the high growth Internet of Things (IoT) / M2M (machine-to-machine) market. The new RFX25xx-series of products further expands RFaxis’ portfolio of RF front-end ICs for the 2.4 GHz frequency band that are widely adopted by wireless communication systems for IoT.

The RFX25xx-series is a family of 2.4GHz RFeICs™ in an ultra-miniature 2.5x2.5mm QFN package, a smaller size option to the existing RFX24xx-series of products. Read More

New Platform Enables Testing of New LTE/4G+ Proposals

National Instruments has introduces a system for testing, experimenting on and prototyping new LTE Unlicensed (LTE-U) and/or License Assisted Access (LAA) wireless access technologies. Though 5G has generated significant interest and focus, new technologies such as LTE-U and LAA are needed today to enhance the 4G data experience and help close the gap until 5G arrives.

The real-time testbed includes an FPGA-based LTE physical layer in source code so that different scenarios of LTE-U and LAA can be tested, evaluated and potentially augmented to assess performance and increase data rates for systems built on existing LTE and 802.11 infrastructure. Read More

MACOM Showcases Broadest Portfolio for Wireless Network Infrastructure

M/A-COM Technology Solutions is showcasing its newly expanded portfolio of high-performance, integrated components for access, backhaul and next-generation wireless technologies at Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2016. At the event MACOM will be showcasing the following:

MACOM GaN – MACOM’s MAGb series of GaN power transistors for macro basestations produce GaN performance at LDMOS like cost structures at scaled volume production levels. MAGb power transistors target all major cellular bands within the 1.8 to 3.8 GHz frequency range, and support peak output power up to 700W.

Small Signal Solutions – MACOM’s solutions for basestation receivers span from discrete high power switch, Low Noise Amplifier (LNA), digital step attenuators, variable voltage attenuators and control components to semi and fully-integrated front end modules that combine these devices with optional bias and matching capabilities. Read More

Skyworks and Sequans Deliver World’s First Solution for LTE Category M Applications

Skyworks Solutions and Sequans Communications, a 4G chipmaker and leading provider of LTE chips for wireless device manufacturers worldwide, announced they have delivered the world’s first solution optimized for LTE Category M (Cat M) applications addressing the growing demand for embedded cellular connectivity across the Internet of Things (IoT). The device leverages Skyworks’ half-duplex RF front-end module and Sequans’ new Monarch LTE Cat M single chip to deliver a highly integrated, turn-key solution based on Release 13 of the 3GPP LTE standard. The Skyworks/Sequans platform, which is scalable to operator requirements worldwide, simplifies the design process, shortens OEM development time and significantly accelerates the launch of next generation LTE-based devices targeting low data rate, low power applications. Read More

R&S Supports Higher-Order Modulation Modes for More LTE & LTE-A Data Rates

Modulation methods such as 256QAM and 64QAM in LTE and LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) increase data rates in both the downlink and uplink. Rohde & Schwarz now offers these innovative steps on the R&S CMW500 wideband radio communication tester.

At Mobile World Congress, Rohde & Schwarz will demonstrate RF tests for LTE-Advanced carrier aggregation with four component carriers in the downlink. The solution will consist of the R&S CMWflexx setup, containing two R&S CMW500 and one R&S CMWC controller. Read More

Qorvo Expands Its Support of Marquee Android Smartphone Platform

Qorvo has announced that it has been selected by a leading global smartphone manufacturer to expand its support of a marquee Android smartphone platform launching in the March Quarter of 2016. Qorvo has broadly expanded its participation in this highly anticipated device to include RF Fusion RF front end modules, diversity receive modules, power amplifier duplexers (PADs), switches, impedance tuners, low noise amplifiers (LNAs), duplexers and filters.

The RF solutions selected to support the marquee smartphone platform launch include the QM78064 high band RF Fusion module, the QM63001A diversity receive module, the TQQ1013 high-performance NoDrift™ SAW duplexer, the 885067 Wi-Fi coexistence filter, the TQF6260 B30 PAD, the QM14003 high band LTE LNA, the RF1135 impedance tuner, the 885060 diplexer, and the QM13113, QM12023, and RF1646 high performance switches for antenna control solutions. Read More

GaN Power Transistors for Wireless Basestations at LDMOS Prices

M/A-COM Technology Solutions has announced its highly-anticipated MAGb series of GaN power transistors for use in wireless macro basestations. The MAFb series is based on M/A-COM's Gen4 GaN technology and is a commercial basestation-optimized family of GaN transistors with excellent efficiency, bandwidth and power gain with a linearity and cost structure like LDMOS, and a path to better than LDMOS cost at scaled volume production levels.

The MAGb series of power transistors target all cellular bands within the 1.8 GHz to 3.8 GHz frequency range. Initial entries in the product series include single-ended transistors providing up to 400 W peak power in small packages, dual-transistors and single-package Doherty configuration providing up to 700 W peak power in both symmetric and asymmetric power options. Read More

Qorvo Commences Shipments of RF Flex GEN-3

Qorvo has announced it has commenced shipments of the recently launched RF Flex™ Gen-3 family of RF front end modules to multiple smartphone OEMs. The RF Flex™ Gen-3 modules leverage the Company's deep systems-level expertise to integrate core cellular transmit and receive functionality into high-performance multiband PA modules and transmit modules. The PA modules and transmit modules are co-architected to deliver ease of adaptability and scalability with superior performance in carrier aggregation operation for performance-tier smartphones in China and other emerging markets.

Qorvo's RF Flex™ Gen-3 solutions – the RF5422, RF5426 and RF5427 multiband PA modules and the RF5228 and RF5238 transmit modules – are optimized for superior performance in carrier aggregation operation and are co-architected to deliver a highly adaptable and scalable solution for performance-tier LTE smartphones. Read More

Qorvo Joins 3GPP to Promote Development of 5G

Qorvo announced that they have joined 3GPP™ as a guest delegate to assist in the development of key aspects of 5G next-generation wireless communications standards. 3GPP™ is a global group of organizations responsible for developing the telecommunications standards used by wireless networks worldwide, including 3G, 4G and the forthcoming 5G specifications.

The 5G standard is expected to be released in two phases. Phase 1, due for completion in 2018, will focus on frequencies below 6 GHz and define specifications for a prioritized subset of vertical markets. Read More

R&S to Present Test Solutions for LTE, IoT and 5G at MWC 2016

Rohde & Schwarz will showcase its innovations at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona from 22 to 25 February, 2016. At booth B50 in the same hall, Rohde & Schwarz and subsidiary SwissQual will present the latest developments in mobile network testing and also present cyber security solutions.

Testing is everything on the path to 5G

The everyday applications of wireless technologies go far beyond mobile phones, tablets and computers. LTE-Advanced is enabling applications with ever increasing bandwidth, and the next generation of wireless communications (5G) is on the horizon. Read More

MAX4G to Showcase New NLOS Backhaul Product at MWC 2016

MAX4G has announced that it will unveil its new M4-2000 NLOS backhaul product at Mobile World Congress 2016, Barcelona.

The Company’s latest NLOS backhaul solution offers excellent performance with up to 900 Mbps capacity and sub 1 ms latency. It features carrier aggregation of both licensed and unlicensed spectrum, adaptive interference management, F-TDD and dynamic uplink-downlink optimization. Read More