Altair Semiconductor Announces LTE Baseband Processor - FourGee(TM)-3100

Altair Semiconductor, a fabless chip company developing the world's most advanced 4G mobile semiconductors for handheld devices, today announced the details of its LTE baseband processor, the FourGee(TM)-3100.

The FourGee(TM)-3100, which will be available in Q409, is a fully optimized LTE CAT-3 baseband processor that will operate with devices from mobile handsets, data cards and USB dongles to various handheld consumer electronics devices. The FourGee(TM)-3100 is bundled with a complete LTE L1 and protocol stack.

"The FourGee(TM)-3100 is a key element of our larger LTE product portfolio, which, as previously announced, will include both baseband and RF transceiver chips," said Oded Melamed, Co-Founder and CEO of Altair Semiconductor. "By developing our product for use in both mobile handheld devices and data cards and dongles, we ensure Altair can meet all of the LTE needs of our current and potential customers."

Altair's LTE chipsets are architected using the company's proprietary and market-proven O2P(TM)software-defined 4G processor, which offers extremely high performance at unmatched power consumption levels. The FourGee(TM)-3100 will join Altair's existing products, the FourGee(TM)-2150 for mobile WiMAX, and the FourGee(TM)-4150, for XGP, both recognized as leaders in their respective markets for high performance and power efficiency.

"There is a strong need in the industry today for a small form factor, ASIC based solution for User Equipment (UE)," said Eran Eshed, Co-Founder and VP of Marketing and Business Development of Altair. "The FourGee(TM)-3100 will be one of the first commercial grade, CAT-3 LTE ASICs in the market, and in conjunction with Altair's RFICs for FDD and TDD, will accelerate the critical trial and deployment phases of LTE."

Altair's FourGee(TM)-3100 Feature Highlights Include:

* Suitable for integration in devices such as mobile handsets, data cards/dongles, consumer electronic devices and other embedded devices
* Support of LTE category 3 (CAT-3) throughputs (100Mbps/50Mbps DL/UL respectively)
* Two 20MHz MIMO receive chains and one transmit chain
* Ultra-low power consumption in operational and standby modes
* High-speed, programmable interface to industry standard HSPA/EVDO baseband and applications processors, enabling a true multi-mode LTE+3G solution
* Based on Altair's proprietary, cutting edge signal processing engine, O2P(TM)
* Seamless interfaces with Altair's multi-band LTE RFIC lineup
* Small 8x8mm BGA package
* Complemented with a robust, comprehensive and interoperated L1 and protocol stack which includes PHY, MAC, RLC, PDCP, RRC and NAS layers
* Supports other 4G/OFDM technology variants, including WiMAX and XGP

In the coming months, Altair will continue to roll out its LTE product portfolio, including:

* FourGee(TM)-6150 - a MIMO RF transceiver that supports LTE-TDD. This product will be available in August 2009
* FourGee(TM)-6200 - a multi-band LTE-FDD MIMO transceiver that supports the most popular LTE bands in North America, Japan and Europe. The chip will be available in Q210

About Altair Semiconductor

Altair Semiconductor is the world's leading developer of ultra-low power, small footprint and high performance 4G semiconductors. The company's products provide device manufacturers integrating any 4G technology into their products with a highly power-optimized, robust and cost-effective solution. Altair's comprehensive product portfolio includes baseband processors, multi-band RF transceivers for both FDD and TDD bands, and a range of reference hardware and product level protocol stack software. Based on a novel, proprietary 4G Optimized OFDM Processor (O2P(TM)), Altair's products are the smallest and most highly power optimized in the industry, offering an unmatched combination of flexibility and performance. Altair is privately held and has raised a total of $48M in three rounds of financing from investors, including Bessemer Venture Partners, BRM Capital, ETV Capital, Giza Venture Capital, Jerusalem Venture Partners, and Pacific Technology Fund.

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