DesignArt shoots for sub-$100 femtocell mark in WiMAX

DesignArt Networks claims it has attained the Holy Grail of femtocells: it has developed a WiMAX system-on-a-chip (SoC) architecture cheap enough to produce femtocells below $100—that mysterious price barrier between a sizable investment and standard consumer purchase.

DesignArt has incorporated multiple subcomponents into a single integrated design called the DAN2200, cutting down silicon costs to the point a manufacturer can build a femtocell gateway that could retail for under $100 if produced in volumes. For instance, the precision time protocol technology used to synchronize the femtocell clock with the rest of the network normally is a $10 to $20 component in a device, but it has been integrated directly into the SoC as well as IPSEC and WiMAX encryption cores and network scanning functions, said Joachim Hallwachs vice president of marketing for DesignArt. The result, Hallwachs said, is an all-in-one silicon chip that can vastly scale down the cost of materials necessary to build a femtocell or incorporate femtocell capabilities into other appliances.

“The key to getting the cost of the femtocell down is not really in the silicon itself,” Hallwachs said. “It’s in the integration of these sub-components.”

Don’t expect $100 WiMAX femtocells to start hitting the shelves immediately. The key, Hallwachs said, is scale. DesignArt isn’t shipping silicon itself. It is selling the reference design for the SoC so device manufacturers can integrate the solution directly into their circuit board designs, subjecting them to volume economics. Hallwachs estimated the sweet spot to be about 1 million units, volumes that are probably a long way off for any WiMAX femtocell manufacturer. While WiMAX networks are being launched all over the world, few them yet support mobility, which drives the business case for femtocells. As Sprint and Clearwire roll out the Xohm network this year, the WiMAX mobile device market will grow, but both operators are starting out small. Sprint is launching in Baltimore this month, followed by two more markets by year end, while Clearwire is targeting Portland by the end of the year, preferring to wait until the two companies WiMAX venture closes before major rollouts begin. It may take several years before Xohm has 1 million customers, much less the demand for 1 million femtocells.

“All we need is quantity,” Hallwachs said. “Once we get quantities we will be able to drive the cost of a femtocell down to the cost of a Wi-Fi access point.”