Icera enables BandRich 21Mbps HSPA+ USB modem

Icera, a mobile broadband semiconductor company, has today announced that its HSPA+ soft modem, supporting HSPA+ Release 7 features to deliver 21Mbps peak data rates and 5.76Mbps in the uplink, is enabling BandRich’s Bandluxe USB stick, C330, C331, and C339, now available on multiple carrier networks globally.

The Bandluxe C330 series is a range of USB modems providing various UMTS band combinations; the C330 worldwide tri-band 2100/850/1900 MHz, the C331 single band 2100 MHz, the C339 dual-band 2100/900 MHz and quad-band GSM/EDGE in addition to HSPA+ connectivity, all in a compact, lightweight design. They also feature an integrated microSD card for portable data storage.

Stan Boland, President & CEO of Icera, said: “As we have seen with operator announcements in recent weeks, HSPA+ is gaining increasing traction with carriers looking to maximize the return from their investment in 3G networks, while increasing network capacity in response to the unprecedented demand for mobile data.  Icera’s advantage is to offer 21Mbps HSPA+ as a software upgrade to our existing HSPA platform, using the same silicon, saving design time and cost, and enabling our customers to get products to market faster.”

Dr. Wen-Yi Kuo, CEO of BandRich, commented: “We selected Icera’s Livanto® chipset for our 21Mbps device because it combines outstanding user experience with unparalleled network efficiency due to its high performance soft modem technology.  The product and the company’s innovative technology is allowing us, in turn, to successfully deliver enhanced mobile broadband performance to our operator customers who are increasingly differentiating themselves through the quality and consistency of their mobile broadband experience.”