Carlson Wireless Announces the First Chipset-Based White Space Radio To Significantly Reduce Costs and Enhance Performance of TV White Space Devices and Networks

ARCATA, California, and BOGOTA, Colombia, 27 April 2016 – Carlson Wireless Technologies, Inc., a global leader in TV White Space (TVWS) technology, today is introducing its third generation TVWS chip module, the Picasso Gen3, to the global market. The module was developed as part of a close and ongoing collaboration between Carlson Wireless and MediaTek, a market leader in wireless communications chip design.  Carlson’s Gen3 revolutionizes the economics of TVWS by dramatically reducing device and associated infrastructure costs while enhancing broadband throughput and IEEE 802.11af interoperability, making robust and affordable broadband connectivity feasible for billions of people today.

Using low-band spectrum in vacant UHF TV frequencies and the new IEEE 802.11af WiFi standard, Carlson’s Picasso Gen3 chip will allow hundreds of users to receive a reliable broadband connection with data download speeds up to 96 Mbps from a single base station.  The range of the UHF signal is 3 to 5 times greater than a traditional microwave WiFi signal. The big CapEx and OpEx savings is realized by a 10X reduction in the amount of base stations needed. Unlike other wireless technologies, Carlson’s Gen3 low-band non-line-of-sight (NLOS) signal penetrates walls, trees, foliage, and bends over hills even at long distances.

Carlson Wireless will deliver a breakthrough means for service providers around the world to offer affordable and quickly deployable broadband Internet access to connect devices and users where current technologies – wired or wireless – cannot.  The very low power consumption of the chipset design also allows for solar powered base stations. On April 14, 2016, IEEE confirmed that TVWS is perhaps the leading technology set to deliver affordable broadband to billions.

“This chip, combined with a suite of our other design advancements in Gen3, will pave the way for connecting billions of people without broadband due to current market or technological constraints,” said James Carlson, CEO of Carlson Wireless. “We are very pleased to be part of this revolutionary step in TVWS history and see 2016 as being the breakout year for the global TVWS market.”

“I am genuinely excited about the emergence of chipset modules implementing TVWS-type regulations,” commented Prof. H Sama Nwana, Executive Director, Dynamic Spectrum Alliance. “With TVWS regulations now clear and increasingly being adopted across the world and standards agreed, the next step is chipsets and chipset modules at volume and at low cost. DSA member Carlson Wireless’ Gen3 Picasso radio module supports WiFi in TV bands, and employs technologies from two other DSA companies: Mediatek of Taiwan (baseband) and Aviacomm of the USA (transceivers). I am even more excited that the Carlson Picasso radio module is an application-specific integrated circuit and direct baseband to final TV frequency, meaning it does not suffer the EVM or signal-to-noise ratio losses of the frequency re-banding solutions. These boards can now be bought and integrated into new WiFi routers, set top boxes and more, to help drive connectivity in emerging markets.”