RF Micro Devices Inc., Greensboro, NC, a supplier of proprietary radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs) for wireless communications applications, has begun shipments of a power amplifier module and driver IQ modulator for use in the Sony Ericsson GC82 Enhanced Data for Global Evolution (EDGE) PC card. The GC82 EDGE PC card supports EDGE service on the AT&T Wireless network, which enables consumers to achieve fast cellular connections to the wireless Internet via handsets, laptop computers, PDAs and other wireless devices. The GC82 EDGE PC card fits in the PCMCIA slot of laptop computers and has been demonstrated by AT&T Wireless to achieve average download speeds of approximately 100 kbps to 130 kbps, with maximum speeds of up to 200 kbps.

According to Anders Franzen, corporate vice president for Sony Ericsson M2M, “The Sony Ericsson GC82 EDGE PC card is the first high-performance EDGE modem to be deployed in the market.”

EDGE delivers data rates that are competitive to CDMA2000 1X and up to four times faster than GPRS. EDGE is viewed by many system operators as playing an important role in the evolution toward — ideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA).

For details, visit www.rfmd.com