To speed up introduction of phones that automatically switch between cellular and wireless LAN (WLAN), Royal Philips Electronics has readied a complete unlicensed mobile access (UMA) semiconductor reference design. It offers a blueprint for a mobile phone that accesses GSM and GPRS mobile services through traditional cellular networks to automatically switch over to WLAN access points. This gives mobile phone customers added flexibility for advanced phone services as their phones detect the fastest and most cost-effective network without interruptions.

In addition, Philips Electronics also unveiled a new low-power 802.11g wireless LAN semiconductor system-in-a-package (SiP) solution for the mobile phone market. This new low-power 802.11g solution enables consumers to access voice, data and multimedia content through WLAN networks up to five times faster than current 802.11b products on the market without compromising the battery life of the mobile phone. These solutions were revealed at this week’s Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association (CTIA) Wireless 2005 Show in New Orleans.

Philips is working closely with Alcatel, a leading provider of communications solutions, on interoperability tests between UMA handsets based on the Philips Nexperia UMA reference design and the Alcatel 5020 Spatial Atrium mobile call server/softswitch. The Alcatel switching solution enables service providers to extend customer roaming capabilities as they switch between cellular networks and WLAN access points. Alcatel's customers include global telecommunications carriers, internet service providers and enterprises.

According to Philips, its UMA reference design features the industry's lowest-power 802.11g WLAN system-in-a-package (SiP) for connections to WLAN access points. The UMA switching capability is based on software from Kineto Wireless. These features are added to the Philips Nexperia cellular system solution 6120 for a complete reference design that allows manufacturers to quickly manufacture UMA phones without the delays associated with the extensive testing required for carrier-quality mobile phones.

"We have combined our new low-power 802.11g technology and Kineto's industry-leading UMA switching technology with our Nexperia cellular system solution to create a powerful mobile phone reference design that makes it easy for people to take advantage of advanced phone services," said Gert-Jan Kaat, senior vice president, Business Unit Mobile Communications, Philips Semiconductors. "Our new UMA reference design is optimized for performance, scalability and ease-of-deployment, with the ability to make it simple for mobile users to connect to voice, data and entertainment services."

Kineto's UMA client software is added to the Nexperia 6120 system solution in this reference design to give mobile phones the ability to roam seamlessly between mobile networks and WLANs. When combined with Philips' new low-power 802.11g WLAN SiP, the advantages of UMA become readily apparent. The 802.11g SiP enables mobile phone users to access voice, data and multimedia services through WLAN networks up to five times faster than current 802.11b products, without compromising the battery life of mobile phones.

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