Intel talks up universal wireless networking

Intel technology will automatically switch between radio networks

Intel has promised to unveil technology that automatically switches between radio networks, providing always-on wireless network connectivity for mobile devices.

The chip giant is scheduled to demonstrate advances in the development of so-called 'agile radio' at a VLSI (Very Large-Scale Integration) Symposium today in Kyoto, Japan.

"What we want to accomplish is the ability to connect to any network, any time, anywhere. The user will not have to worry if he is on a Wi-Fi network or a cellphone network," said Krishnamurthy Soumyanath, director of the Communications Lab at Intel's Corporate Technology Group.

Intel is set to present a chip at the VLSI Symposium that features both a 2.4GHz and 5GHz radio running on only 1.4 volts. The chip supports up to 40MHz of bandwidth, up from today's 20MHz versions.

The higher frequency will support data rates beyond 100Mbps, enough to deliver streaming video over a wireless connection. Today's Wi-Fi technology offers only 54Mbps, but Intel expects the forthcoming 802.11n standard to raise supported bandwidth.

The low power consumption is a direct result of Intel using 90 nm Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) technology for the chip. It should deliver additional power savings and performance advancements as a result of Moore's Law.

Intel's researchers also succeeded in integrating the power amplifier onto the chip. This is hard to accomplish as it causes interference, but increases wireless performance.

The company lastly created a technology to properly calibrate the transceiver, which should lead to higher yield rates when Intel starts to manufacture the chips.

"A simple calibration scheme is key and the path to high volume manufacturing," said Soumyanath.

Intel first started talking about its efforts to develop an agile radio out of silicon in August when it showed off an integrated frequency synthesiser that allows the chip to tune to the proper frequency.

The agile radio requires further research and development before it is ready, and Intel still needs to design a CMOS radio for cellular networks.

Soumyanath declined to provide a projected launch date for the wireless chip.