Agilent Technologies, ASTRI, PicoChip Demonstrate Design and Test of TD-LTE Femtocell at 2009 Mobile World Congress

Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: A), Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute (ASTRI), and picoChip today announced a TD-LTE demonstration to be hosted here by the TD-SCDMA Industry Alliance (TDIA).

The demo will use Agilent equipment to test a TD-LTE femtocell jointly designed by ASTRI and picoChip. It will also be the first demonstration of MIMO testing of a TD-LTE femtocell. In addition, Agilent and ASTRI will join picoChip in its booth (1D56) to demonstrate a live HD-video demo using the same TD-LTE technology.

The demonstration shows how these products are a powerful, scalable design and test platform that supports the TD-LTE Radio Access Network (RAN) eNode B stations and User Equipment (UE) development lifecycle -- from early physical layer and protocol development to conformance test.

“Agilent is committed to providing TD-LTE design and test solutions early in the design cycle so our customers can meet their aggressive development schedules,” said Guy Sene, vice president and general manager of Agilent’s Signal Analysis Division.

“We’re committed to partnering with leading players on the LTE roadmap for femtocell, UE and test equipment,” said Dr. Chin-Lin I, vice president and group director of ASTRI’s Communications Technologies Group. “ASTRI and picoChip’s jointly developed LTE-TDD femtocell is the world’s first to support TD-LTE femtocell MIMO functionality, reinforcing our ability to deliver advanced technologies for a global market.”

“PicoChip is the leader in baseband for next-generation infrastructure,” said Nigel Toon, president and CEO at picoChip. “Our software-defined architecture has already been field-proven with widespread deployment in WiMAX, and we have our LTE FDD program. We are delighted to complement that with this TDD development and offer the complete range of 4G technologies.”

The test solutions used to validate the femtocell reference design include Agilent’s N9020A MXA Signal Analyzer with the Agilent 89600 Series Vector Signal Analysis (VSA) software and its new 3GPP LTE MIMO modulation analysis option. This option gives RF and baseband engineers who work on early LTE devices the industry’s most comprehensive signal analysis solution for physical-layer testing and troubleshooting. It enables LTE signal analysis from the analog/digital baseband through to the RF antenna.

The Agilent MXG signal generator and PXB MIMO receiver tester will also be included to deliver the most up-to-date, versatile signal creation and MIMO channel emulation capabilities for the latest LTE standard. The PXB MIMO receiver tester delivers the best simulation of real-world conditions available on the market today. The MXG RF signal generators offer scalable performance that can be tailored to meet the demanding 3GPP LTE test requirements.

About TD-LTE, LTE and Femtocells

LTE, or Long-Term Evolution, is a fourth-generation (4G) mobile broadband standard and is positioned to be the successor to the 3G- technology GSM. The TDD version of LTE (or TD-LTE) is one of two modes in LTE. The TDD version will be compatible with TD-SCDMA and the global LTE implementation, and will be used by mobile network providers such as China Mobile.

Along with its partners, Agilent provides a broad, comprehensive portfolio of solutions that address the entire UE LTE lifecycle -- from early development through production test and deployment. More information about Agilent’s 3GPP LTE products is available at www.agilent.com/find/LTE.

Agilent’s complete offering of test solutions for mobile communication can be seen here at 2009 Mobile World Congress, Hall 1, Stand D45, Feb. 16-19.

About the Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute Co. Ltd.

The Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region founded the Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute Company Ltd. (ASTRI, www.astri.org) in 2001 to capture the promises of technological advances for Hong Kong through applied research. Its missions are to perform high-quality R & D for technology transfer to industry, develop needed technical human resources, and act as a focal point that brings together industry and university R & D assets.

ASTRI has become one of the global leaders developing TD-LTE technologies. By leveraging the MIMO technology, ASTRI’s engineers have developed the core TD-LTE technologies which can be used in both TD-LTE terminal and TD-LTE femtocell designs.

About picoChip

PicoChip is the only semiconductor company focused solely on wireless infrastructure that is currently shipping silicon. The company’s products scale from femtocell access points to picocells and sophisticated multi-sector carrier macrocells.

PicoChip is the industry’s leading supplier of femtocell silicon with solutions for all of the world’s major wireless standards, including WCDMA, TD-SCDMA, WiMAX and cdma2000. The company’s PC202 device, launched in March 2006, was the industry’s first integrated baseband processor to specifically target femtocell applications. PicoChip continues this record of innovation, having recently demonstrated the industry’s first reference designs for the emerging LTE standard. For more information, visit www.picoChip.com.