The Wireless Innovation Forum Announces Annual Award Finalists

The Wireless Research Forum today announced finalists of its annual Achievement Awards. Finalists in the Innovation of the Year include Elektrobit Specialized Device Platform, Harris RF-310M-HH Type 1 Suite B Handheld Multiband Radio and xG Technology xMax. Finalists for International Achievement are JPEO JTRS TD/CTO and William Webb, CTO, Neul. Winners will be announced at 2011 Wireless Research Forum Conference on Communications Technologies and Software Defined Radio. The premier event for the reconfigurable radio community, SDR'11-WInnComm will be held 29 November to 2 December in Washington, D.C. Each day of this conference will feature keynotes by industry leaders as then as workshops, tutorials and technical presentations. The event as well touts an exposition and a technology showcase.

The Innovation of the Year award is presented to an individual or organization for a breakthrough product or innovation in the field of Software Defined or Cognitive Radio as selected by the members. Nomination summaries for the finalists are:

EB Specialized Device Platform is a versatile platform targeted to vertical markets just as defense, public safety and security. With the platform, EB can roll out customized mobile devices that meet specific industry functional or performance requirements-faster and with lower development risks and costs. The platform is comprised of components exactly focused to extend product life cycle, deliver excellent performance and simplify the platform evolution. It is anchored by the Texas Instruments OMAP™ family of application processors and includes both OMAP3™ series single-core and OMAP4™ series dual-core options. EB chose TI's OMAP processors for their balance between competitive mass market performance and unparalleled features, just as integrated and fully programmable C64x Digital Signal Processor, that appeals to the target vertical markets. Other key features include Google Android operating system, integrated cellular connectivity options including LTE (Long Term Evolution, latest standard in the mobile network technology) with Band 14 support for the U.S. Public Safety market, a high-resolution touch-screen enabled display, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS and advanced battery and power management features. A cellular 2G/3G version of the platform uses the Infineon's SDR based XMM6081 chipset. The EB Specialized Device Platform is as a rule available today for devices to be commercialized with the OMAP3 Series applications processor and 2G/3G cellular connectivity options. Devices requiring the OMAP4 Series applications processors or the 4G/LTE (Long Term Evolution, latest standard in the mobile network technology) cellular connectivity options can be commercialized in the first half of 2011.

The RF-310M-HH Multiband Radio is the first

The RF-310M-HH Multiband Radio is the first and only Suite B-compatible tactical military handheld radio supporting secure communications for homeland security applications that bridge the gap between U.S. DoD agencies, emergency first responders, state, and local agency personnel. The RF-310M-HH as well supports NATO applications for both coalition interoperability and national needs through locally generated, independent sovereign security keys. The RF-310M-HH Multiband Radio utilizes a JTRS certified Software Communications Architecture operating environment, secured with Suite B-compatible cryptography and key management techniques incorporating the Harris Sierra IIB programmable encryption. The Advanced Encryption Standard and keying standards are used to handle voice and data traffic at the U.S. Secret level and below. The RF-310M-HH frequency range covers 30-512 MHz, with a high band option extending frequency range coverage to 30-520 MHz and 762-870 MHz.

xG Research is the developer of the world's first carrier-class cognitive radio network, xMax, a solution that can fundamentally alter telecom economics, driving down costs and opening the doors to new applications and competitors during bringing reliable and affordable phone service to more people. xMax cognitive radio innovation was designed to be frequency agnostic. In other words, its cognitive identify and utilize spectrum sensing research can be used to power radios in any frequency band. This is beneficial since the FCC and wireless regulatory bodies around the world are in the process of opening up new spectrum, as then as reclassifying existing spectrum, to be made available for opportunistic use. xMax can be applied to a carrier's existing licensed spectrum to opportunistically put unused capacity to work, without impacting its primary wireless infrastructure or users. This additional capacity enables the delivery of new revenue-generating services, or could as well be used as overflow to help relieve pressure on these overtaxed networks. xMax cognitive radio network technology empowers competitive communications providers to leverage unlicensed spectrum for carrier-class service, significantly reducing the investment and operating costs of deploying voice and data networks. It unlocks access to vast swaths of earlier untapped or underutilized spectrum, lowering the hurdles for organizations of all types ranging from telecom to enterprise to military/defense, first responders and utilities to deploy robust and cost-effective wireless services. xMax offers users a carrier class experience via unlicensed spectrum. The end-to-end IP system makes it possible to deliver guaranteed QoS and high-quality VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) services.

Since 2003, William Webb has been a key figure in shaping spectrum policy across Europe through his work at Ofcom, the UK Communications regulator. As Director of Research Resources, William managed Ofcom innovation and development and led a number of key policy initiatives including the Spectrum Framework Review, the development of Spectrum Usage Rights and most recently cognitive or white space policy. In January 2011, he became CTO of Neul, a Cambridge-based company focusing on machine-to-machine communications using TV white-space spectrum and producer of the first radios to fully meet the FCC white space radio specification. William has published 11 books, 80 papers and four patents. He is a Visiting Professor at Surrey University and DeMontfort University and a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, the IEEE and the IET, where he is a Vice President.

Established in 1996, The Wireless Research Forum is a non-profit mutual benefit corporation dedicated to driving technology technology in commercial, civil and defense communications worldwide. Members bring a broad base of experience in Software Defined Radio, Cognitive Radio and Dynamic Spectrum Access technologies in diverse markets and at all levels of the wireless value chain to address emerging wireless communications requirements. To learn more about The Wireless Research Forum, its meetings and membership benefits, visit www.WirelessInnovation.org.