Altair Semiconductor to Provide Power Efficient Chipsets to WILLCOM Inc. for Next...

Altair Semiconductor to Provide Power Efficient Chipsets to WILLCOM Inc. for
Next Generation PHS Technology

HOD HASHARON, Israel, May 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Altair Semiconductor
(Altair), a fabless chip company developing the world's most advanced 4G
mobile semiconductors for handheld devices, today announced it has been
selected to supply the chipsets for wireless devices operating on WILLCOM
Inc.'s (WILLCOM) next generation Personal Handyphone System ("XG-PHS") in
Japan.
WILLCOM, Japan's largest PHS technology operator, chose Altair after an
extensive evaluation of chipset solutions from semiconductor suppliers around
the world. Under the terms of the agreement between the two companies, Altair
will supply its ALTx150 series ultra-low power and high performance chipsets
to WILLCOM's authorized ecosystem of mobile handset and handheld device
manufacturers.
"WILLCOM is the pioneer of PHS deployment in Japan and has an
extraordinary track record for pushing the envelope on performance and service
quality," said Oded Melmed, CEO and a co-founder of Altair. "WILLCOM's
selection of Altair's chipset validates our development of highly flexible and
power-efficient processors that allow us to address different 4G markets and
technologies with a single semiconductor platform. We felt a relationship with
WILLCOM would be highly strategic in the early stages of our initial
feasibility study, conducted with Harel-Hertz Investment House, who we also
worked with through the project negotiations."
WILLCOM, one of only two licensees of 2.5GHz mobile broadband spectrum in
Japan, will deploy its next generation PHS network using orthogonal
frequency-division multiplexing access (OFDMA) technology that is architected
to achieve higher capacity and lower cost per bit compared to traditional 3
and 3.5G cellular technologies.
"In order to reach our goal to offer the highest capacity and best
performing wireless network in the world, we needed to equip our device
manufacturers with a flexible, low-power consumption chipset," said Yoshioki
Chika, executive vice president of WILLCOM. "Altair's world-class multi-mode
4G chipset portfolio, and its underlying O2P processor architecture, which is
capable of supporting a wide range of OFDMA standards, allow us to benefit
from high volume pricing and field proven semiconductors. It is the perfect
fit for our needs."
About Altair Semiconductor
Altair is the world's leading developer of ultra-low power, small
footprint and high performance mobile semiconductors that take broadband
bandwidth beyond notebooks and USB adaptors to un-tethered, battery-operated
handheld devices. The company's products provide handheld device manufacturers
with a highly power-optimized, robust and cost-effective solution. Altair is
privately held and has raised a total of $26M in two rounds of financing.
For more information, visit http://www.altair-semi.com.
Altair's XG-PHS chipset for Willcom will be distributed through its agent
in Japan, Internix Inc. For more information, visit http://www.internix.co.jp.
For enquiries on Altair's products please email altair@internix.co.jp.
About WILLCOM, Inc.
WILLCOM, Inc. is a leading mobile data telecommunications company,
providing PHS services in Japan. In addition to data telecommunications,
WILLCOM introduced the "WILLCOM Flat-Rate Plan" in May 2005, the industry's
first fixed-rate voice communication service. WILLCOM has also introduced a
series of other new services to the market, and currently has more than 4.60
million cumulative subscribers (as of April 2008). For more information
(available in English and Japanese), visit WILLCOM's website at
http://www.willcom-inc.com/.
Media Contacts:
Todd Barrish / Amanda Lordy
Dukas Public Relations
212-704-7385
Todd@dukaspr.com / Amanda@dukaspr.com

Reader Contact Information
Ha'harash Street, P.O Box 7158, Hod Hasharon 45240 Israel
Tel: +972-9-7403045, Fax: +972-9-7403049
info@altair-semi.com
http://www.altair-semi.com

SOURCE Altair Semiconductor

Todd Barrish, Todd@dukaspr.com, or Amanda Lordy, Amanda@dukaspr.com, both of
Dukas Public Relations, +1-212-704-7385, for Altair Semiconductor