Qualcomm high speed act offers 2.4Mbps CDMA

Qualcomm last week announced a high speed wireless technology that it is pitching as a competitor to DSL (digital subscriber line), offering 2.4Mbps over Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA).

Qualcomm last week announced a high speed wireless technology that it is pitching as a competitor to DSL (digital subscriber line), offering 2.4Mbps over Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA).

The High Data Rate (HDR) technology for wireless data communication will allow speeds of 2.4Mbps across standard CDMA 1.25MHz channel bandwidth.

The system architecture is optimised for packet data networks and based on standard Internet Protocol.

Qualcomm said that the first samples of chipsets that will support HDR will be available at the end of next year and the first devices will be available in 2001.

Qualcomm president, Don Schrock, said that internet access would now be available at speeds that had only been dreamed of previously. "It's possible to have faster data rates in the palm of your hand than many people have to the desk," he said.

The HDR chipsets will include a serial bus interface, which will support 2.4Mbps and enable connections to desktops, laptops and handheld devices.

Joseph Gordon, wireless data consultant at Analysys, said that the announcement was surprising: "I would have expected this technology in five years but not this early in wideband CDMA development."