picoChip designs has been named "Best Enabling Product/Technology for LTE" in the Informa LTE Awards. LTE awards had been annouced at LTE World Summit. These awards recognise the LTE operators & vendors in various categories.

picoChip's reference design is the industry’s first to include the LTE modem (PHY), radio frequency (RF) and packet processors, protocol software, intelligent router functionality and a complete Evolved Packet Core (EPC) simulator.

PC960x has beem developed in association with Continuous Computing and Cavium Networks. The PC9608/9 is a full hardware and software solution for LTE femtocells. Using currently available picoChip hardware, OEMs can develop, prototype, and field test LTE systems immediately, with a seamless migration path to SoC implementation via picoChip’s picoXcell devices.  

The PC8608 supports TDD operation, while PC8609 supports FDD operation. Both products can be combined with picoChip’s HSPA products and run on the same hardware platform as the company’s industry-standard WiMAX reference designs. They are complete software defined implementations of an LTE eNodeB PHY with carrier class reliability and performance for nomadic and mobile applications.

By providing a complete LTE reference design, picoChip claims to empower OEMs with faster time-to-market and lower development costs as they can focus their resources on adding value and differentiating their products. The software-based approach allows in-the-field upgrades and feedback into the design from deployment experience. It also enables rapid customization with customer IP, together with optimization of algorithms for enhanced performance.

Femtocells were one of the big themes of this year's Mobile World Congress. Operators like Vodafone UK, its joint venture SFR in France, Softbank in Japan and AT&T in the US are getting serious about their HSPA femto deployments in the home, and the industry is looking ahead to 'greater femtocells' - the ones that get beyond the living room into enterprises and the great outdoors.

Femtocells are expected to play a crucial role in upcoming LTE networks. LTE femtocells will allow users to benefit from the best possible experience from day one, while also enabling operators to deploy their new networks more efficiently and cost effectively than previously feasible. By employing small cells, operators can build their LTE networks in line with demand, thereby matching investment with revenue while also reducing capital expenditure.

“It is only with femtocells that LTE can truly meet its potential. They are the key to providing the experience that users will expect at a price that operators can afford. We believe that LTE femtocells ultimately will carry the vast majority of indoor mobile data traffic while also providing vital improvements to outdoor coverage and capacity, in both major cities and in remote areas,” said Nigel Toon, CEO and President, picoChip earlier. “While there are numerous vendor demonstrations of a subset of the functions of an LTE femtocell, this reference design represents the world’s first integrated and fully-tested solution.”

“The demand for LTE femtocells is unquestionable. We are already seeing operators asking for small cell access points to start testing in the second half of this year. Femtocells represent the key to avoiding the difficulties surrounding the first 3G deployments where rollouts cost too much, took too long and did not meet user expectations,” said Mike Dagenais, President and CEO, Continuous Computing.