Palma Ceia Announces Complete PHY Solution for HaLow 802.11ah, Supporting IoT WiFi Connectivity

Aug. 04, 2017 –  Palma Ceia SemiDesign (PCS), a provider of next-generation wireless connectivity solutions, announced today it will be adding a complete baseband solution to its HaLow 802.11ah transceiver offering, providing a complete PHY (Physical Layer) and protocol stack solution for WiFi Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity. The PHY will form the foundation of a complete module solution, including the MAC hardware and software for HaLow, expected by the first quarter of 2018. HaLow is an IoT-targeted WiFi standard offering low-power operation, extended range and variable data throughput in an unlicensed spectrum and was ratified by the WiFi Alliance in 2016.

PCS intends to provide a reference design for both a Station and Access Point so that an operational HaLow network can be prototyped. HaLow will complement the Cellular IoT standards, LTE Cat M1 and LTE Cat NB-IoT, by offering IoT connectivity to WiFi hotspots without data or device access charges. PCS is a fabless semiconductor company offering wireless chips, systems and IP focused on connectivity solutions for emerging WiFi and cellular standards serving Internet of Things (IoT), machine-to-machine (M2M) communications and other markets.

"We are continuing our commitment to become a full solution provider for WiFi IoT and HaLow, or 802.11ah," said Roy E. Jewell, co-founder and chief executive officer of Palma Ceia. "The IoT market requires low-power, long-range, low-cost devices with high throughput, and HaLow offers customers the best option for these use cases. We will provide the connectivity solutions our customers need to build out cost-effective, high-performance IoT networks."

The PHY supports the mandatory features of 802.11ah at 1MHz- and 2MHz-channel bandwidths. For those channels both 32 and 64 FFT/IFFT are supported. The PHY supports Automatic Gain Control (AGC) for a consistent baseband digital level. A special Tx digital calibration feature improves carrier suppression using a loopback to the RF transceiver.

PCS will provide a set of reference design kits for STA (Stations) and AP (Access Points) to facilitate compliance testing and networking prototyping. For more information on these offerings please contact info(at)pcsemi(dot)com.

About Palma Ceia SemiDesign

Palma Ceia SemiDesign (PCS) is a provider of communication IP and chips for next-generation WiFi (802.11ah) and Cellular (LTE NB1 and LTE M) applications. With a focus on emerging standards, PCS supports the design of high-performance devices for broadband, wireless, medical and automotive applications. PCS solutions are differentiated by low-power, high-performance designs and ease of integration. With headquarters in Mountain View, Calif., the company has design operations in McKinney, Texas, and sales and support activities in China, Israel, Japan, Korea and Taiwan. Visit Palma Ceia SemiDesign on the web at http://www.pcsemi.com.

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