US Monolithics (USM) has designed and delivered Ka-band transceiver equipment to WildBlue Communications, in accordance to an ongoing development partnership between the companies
The transceiver, which is capable of transmitting and receiving a signal from a satellite, delivers three watts of 30GHz transmit power, with a 1.5dB noise figure on the 20GHz receiver. USM's transceiver forms part of WildBlue's customer premise equipment. The transceiver uses a proprietary GaAs MMIC chipset developed by USM, which includes a four-watt Ka-band power amplifier MMIC.
"This hardware delivery represents a major milestone in our transceiver production rollout plan," said Richard Torkington, vice president of Product Development at US Monolithics. "USM's transceiver product line was designed from its inception with volume production in mind. It employs highly integrated MMIC functions, a low parts count, simplified packaging methods, mature MMIC and assembly processes, and a robust design that minimises test and eliminates RF alignment. With these attributes, we are well on our way to producing these units using existing manufacturing infrastructure."
"WildBlue's partnership with US Monolithics provides focused product development on transceivers for next generation Ka-band broadband systems," said Erwin Hudson, president of WildBlue. "US Monolithics' highly integrated GaAs MMIC chipset is an elegant design that represents an important achievement for the deployment of high volume, affordable Ka-band broadband systems."
WildBlue is planning to roll out two-way broadband services via satellite direct to homes and small offices throughout the US in 2002, with plans to expand the service to Canada and Latin America after.
