ApaceWave Unveils First Chinese-Developed WiMAX Chip

Taipei, June 5, 2009 (CENS)--ApaceWave Technologies recently introduced its APW2050 chip for WiMAX applications, making it the first Chinese company to introduce WiMAX chips.

ApaceWave was founded i n Silicon Valley in 2005 by Gwong-yih Lee, who is concurrently chairman of CyberTAN Technology Inc. of the Hon Hai Group.

The chip supports all 802.16e WiMAX Wave 2 features, including MIMO Matrix A&B and Beam Foaming. It also supports advanced release-1.5 DL/UL AMC MIMO capability. Adopting a 65nm process in a 9x9mm 2 package, APW2050 is among the smallest, most cost-effective, low-power mobile WiMAX baseband SoC available.

According to Lee, his company has contracted Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) to make the chips. So for, consumer-premise wireless equipment makers GemTek Technology Co., Ltd. and Creative Technology Co., Ltd. have verified the chip and will work with ApaceWave to develop WiMAX equipment around APW2050 in the second half this year.

Anticipating that global WiMAX market will grow briskly in the second half this year, Lee pointed out that his company would soon make inroad into 4G market in cooperation with Taiwan's networking-telecomm equipment makers.

He added that many chip companies earlier venturing into the WiMAX field have suffered capital shortage as a result of immaturity of WiMAX market. He believed when the market begins to grow in the second half this year, incumbent wireless-chip designers like Broadcome, Marvell and Atheros would begin to tap the market by acquiring WiMAX chip vendors.

Lee analyzed that WiMAX market as a whole now needs around 500,000 wafers of chips a month, far outnumbering his company's current output of 5,000 to 10,000 wafers of chips a month. Robust market will prompt his company to ramp up output to 200,000 wafers a month by the end of this year.

ApaceWave is capitalized at US$37 million, with major shareholders including venture capital funds Venrock, DCM, WK Technology, Fortune Consulting, Brich and Huahong International Management from Taiwan, mainland China and the United States.