The Hindu : Business : Mix-n-match mobile technologies

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Friday, Dec 07, 2007
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Mix-n-match mobile technologies

Anand Parthasarathy

BANGALORE: The two competing technologies used worldwide to provide mobile phone services may see a disruptive new technology that will allow operators to switch from one to the other without costly hardware changes. Indian-American Vanu Bose — son of high-end audio systems pioneer Amar Bose — has developed a software alternative to current hard ware solutions for the cellular base station — the systems used by mobile service providers to route the signal from one mobile phone to another.

The ‘Anywave Base Station’ created at the Cambridge-Massachusetts (U.S.)-based Vanu Inc, uses what is known as Software Defined Radio (SDR) — being hailed as ‘the future of wireless’ — and its inventor Dr. Bose, President and CEO of Vanu, spoke to The Hindu on Thursday soon after announcing the opening of the eight-year old company’s first India-based R&D centre here. The ability of one cellular provider to switch between the two dominant technologies would be particularly relevant in markets like India where telecom operators were bidding for spectrum in CDMA and GSM, Dr Vanu said. “Sooner or later all carriers will have to work with multiple standards,” he added.

Vanu is also working on low powered access wireless points that can be used by customers to create ‘home base stations’ using their broadband cable connection. This will allow them to extend the mobile coverage all over their compound -- useful in areas where coverage is patchy.

John Chapin, Chairman of the Software Defined Radio Forum representing over 100 SDR developers, said “Software Radio has been around for some time — now it is poised to enter the mainstream with applications like Vanu’s Anywave.”

Pradeep Malhotra, Managing Director of Vanu India, said the newly formed team in India would help Vanu make the jump to solutions for third generation, 3G, wireless and beyond.

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