Texas Instruments Inc's chairman, Tom Engibous, has made a phone call from India to Europe on a live cellular network to demonstrate the company's next step strategy to deliver a single-chip cell phone solution for ultra-low-cost handsets in emerging markets, such as India.

According to the GSM Association, 80% of the world's population has wireless coverage; however, only about 20% subscribe to wireless services due largely to the cost of mobile phones. This represents a huge opportunity for delivering mobile services to large sections of the world's population. In India alone, roughly 11% of its total population has telecom connectivity with a mobile subscriber base of 58 million.

TI's cost-effective single-chip cell phone solution enables handset manufacturers to capitalize on the burgeoning opportunities in India and other emerging markets worldwide.

"The mobile phone is already indispensable in established markets, and wireless will become even more useful in countries where today the availability of wired communication is limited," said Engibous. "TI developed its single-chip cell phone solution specifically to narrow the digital divide. Our customers can use this technology to make ultra-low-cost handsets affordable in largely untapped consumer markets such as India, China, South America, Eastern Europe and other emerging markets."

TI announced last December that it had delivered the industry's first single-chip solution for mobile phones. Typical mobile phones require multiple chips to operate, which add to the overall cost. Developed through TI's advanced 90nm CMOS manufacturing technology, the single-chip solution is now sampling and targets the mass-market voice-centric marketplace. Leveraging TI's DRP (digital RF processor) technology, TI's single-chip cell phone solution integrates the bulk of handset electronics onto a single chip to dramatically reduce cost, power requirements, board area, and silicon area -- performance factors that are crucial for high-volume entry-level mobile phones.

Developed initially for GSM/GPRS handsets, TI's single-chip cell phone solution is paving the way for future single-chip solutions for additional air interfaces. With a roadmap designed to even further reduce system costs, TI is committed to continuing to drive down overall handset costs for emerging markets.

Recognizing the need for affordable handsets in developing countries, the GSM Association introduced its Emerging Markets Initiative earlier this year. With a goal of delivering up to six million handsets in the first six months, GSMA is working with manufacturers to deliver products at a price point below US$40, with the potential to add 100 million connections per year.

From NE Asia Online