Rivals Join Forces For 3G

By Susan Rush
from BroadbandWeek Direct - April 15, 2002

To get high-speed, third-generation handsets out on the market, Siemens AG and Motorola Inc. are forging a technology partnership.

Under the terms of the deal, Motorola will supply a combination of chips and software tools, dubbed the i.300 Innovative Convergence 3G platform. The chips will be delivered in the fourth quarter, will rollout plans for the handsets set for 2004. Financial terms were not disclosed.

To get product out on the market sooner rather than later, Siemens will resell Motorola 3G phones to its customers, re-branded as a Siemens phone. Motorola's A820 device delivers high-speed voice, data and video capabilities.

Separately, Motorola Broadband Communications Sector has launched a "thin-client" version of its high-definition-capable DCT-5100 digital set-top. Designed for expansion, the DCT-5100 taps thin-client software with legacy interactive television applications as well as HDTV. An earlier roadmap for the DCT-5100 called for operating system options such as Microsoft Corp.'s WINCE and the open Linux platform, a CPU clock of 162 MHz and two in-band and one out-of-band tuners. In comparison, Motorola's legacy DCT-2000 series box is populated with the VRTX operating system, a 27 MHz CPU and two tuners: one in-band and one out-of-band.