TeleCIS Wireless announced it is planning to develop a System-on-a-Chip (SoC) that will combine both WiFi and WiMax technologies. According to the company, their fixed WiMax chip is set for release in the second half of 2005, with a combined fixed/mobile WiMax chip to follow in the second half of 2006. In 2007, the company expects to offer a "converged" SoC chipset, which will combine fixed WiMax, mobile WiMax, and 802.11a, b, and g.

David Sumi, TeleCIS’ vice president of marketing, says the aim is to offer a solution that covers all aspects of wireless technology. “Just like your cell phone is a multi-band, multi-protocol system today, we believe that in the future, broadband wireless is going to need to be multi-protocol,” he says. “And when we speak of multi-protocol, for the next two to three years, we’re speaking of 802.11 and 802.16.”

In order to support the growth of WiMax along with the expansion of hotspots and hotzones, Sumi says, a multi-protocol solution will be crucial. “If WiMax gets into the wireless LAN space, then what you’re going to have is an evolution,” he says. “You’re going to need dual-mode access points, because not everybody’s going to flip over right away. The idea is that the end user device—the laptop, the PDA, possibly the cell phone—is enabled in many, many different environments.”

The challenges of putting all of these technologies on a single chip, Sumi says, are well within TeleCIS’ grasp. “We have 802.11 designs, and we’re building our second OFDM modem design that’s going to be WiMax compliant,” he says. “This is not a technical challenge for us. It’s an execution challenge, to be sure—but technologically, this is something that’s well within our capability.”