CSR has been a world leader in Bluetooth wireless technology. What is your roadmap, keeping in view emerging technologies?
We are simultaneously working on several technologies, bluetooth being the primary focus. Extending our roadmap beyond, we are focused on WLAN for embedded portable applications, more significantly, enabling FMC. In fact, FMC software from CSR will be available for the mobile phones from next year. We are also focused on integrating other applications inside the chips, for instance integrated FM radio application on the bluetooth chip. We have good amount of work related to UWB as we see great future for this.
How do you envision FMCs impacting the cellular industry?
I think it will bring a profound change. Starting with reducing the cost of voice coupled with VoIP, and will rapidly evolve data applications. We think the FMC method, which is to connect through Wi-Fi, is a much more convenient way to access broadband Internet content and services on mobile devices than through a cellular network. Wi-Fi will be hugely successful inside the mobile phone. FMC is still few years away from turning into a life-changing technology, but the industry is moving in that direction worldwide.
Between the two standards, UMA and Bluetooth CTP for FMC implementation, which one are you backing?
We would like both standards to succeed, as we sell chips for both. However in the larger picture, we have to decide where to put our strategic investment, to leverage the advantage of a complete solution. We assess that UMA standard is more likely to succeed over Bluetooth CTP for FMC, as it is Wi-Fi based and has a greater potential. Inherently Wi-Fi brings in much higher bandwidth, high speed, and therefore is more usable by the mobile Internet user.
What is the ground preparation needed by India for FMC?
British Telecom took 18 months to install the equipment after announcing their FMC plan in 2004. Similarly for KT Telecom that launched OnePhone service based on Bluetooth CTP. It is more an issue of investing in a new infrastructure with new billing systems and additions of bay stations. In India, there is a huge potential. Here the issue is more to do with the commitment from operator for rolling out FMC with new software rather than an infrastructure issue. We are not aware of any Indian operator interested in UMA so far.
What is the focus CSR's India office?
CSR India, in Bangalore, designs, develops and integrates 3G multimode mobile handset protocol stack (GSM, GPRS, EDGE, WCDMA, HSDPA, HSUPA). The mobile handset software, designed here in Bangalore and the short-range radio connectivity, that is designed in other sites of CSR, are the essential parts of FMC. We are extremely happy with the level of innovation and talent pool, which has broadened CSR's portfolio remarkably.
Malovika Rao
malovikar@cybermedia.co.in
