[BARCELONA=Whowired] February 29, 2012 -- Freescale Semiconductor (NYSE: FSL) is debuting its first large cell base station-on-chip product built on the innovative QorIQ Qonverge multimode platform. The new QorIQ Qonverge B4860 baseband processor delivers higher performance than other macrocell base station-on-chip SoCs supporting the LTE, LTE-Advanced and WCDMA standards. Offering unequaled throughput and capacity, the single-chip B4860 solution is compatible with Freescale’s QorIQ Qonverge small cell products and integrates efficient, high-performance cores, application-specific accelerators and optimal power/cost ratios.

Freescale introduces the B4860 product a year after announcing its QorIQ Qonverge small cell series as the first portfolio of multi-standard products sharing the same architecture and spanning from small to large cells. The QorIQ Qonverge portfolio of software-compatible base station-on-chip products is built on a common architecture integrating Power Architecture® microprocessors, StarCore digital signal processors and wireless acceleration technologies on a single chip. The architecture is based on proven technologies deployed in base stations of all sizes and supports software reuse, helping customers extend the value of their R&D investments.

“Freescale’s QorIQ Qonverge macrocell products provide the performance, energy efficiency and cost effectiveness that OEMs and service providers need to help address challenges associated with the growing tsunami of wireless data worldwide,” said Tom Deitrich, senior vice president and general manager of Freescale's Networking & Multimedia Solutions Group. “The QorIQ Qonverge B4860 macrocell baseband processor allows OEMs to develop differentiated products that help service providers ramp LTE, begin to deploy LTE-Advanced and address the stringent cost requirements of WCDMA base station processing.”

The B4860 macrocell baseband processor utilizes Freescale’s intelligent integration capabilities and advanced 28-nm process technology to deliver a significant leap in computational capacity, offering more than 21 GHz of raw programmable performance. The macrocell SoC integrates four dual-thread, 64-bit e6500 Power Architecture cores with AltiVec SIMD engines running at up to 1.8 GHz. The e6500 core is ideal for Layer 2, control and transport processing, and incorporates an enhanced version of the proven, high performance and widely adopted AltiVec vector processing unit, which boosts performance for Layer 2 scheduling algorithms. The e6500 core has achieved the highest CoreMark® benchmark performance-per-watt profile ever recorded for an embedded processor. The B4860 also integrates six all-new, high performance SC3900 StarCore FVP cores running at 1.2 GHz. Together, these technologies provide a balanced, programmable architecture for all baseband digital processing layers for next-generation base stations.

“Featuring next generation processing cores, intelligent integration, and software compatibility across the QorIQ Qonverge family of base station-on-chip products, Freescale’s B4860 processor is impressive technology,” said Stéphane Téral, principal analyst, Mobile Infrastructure and Carrier Economics for Infonetics. “This new device clearly places Freescale in the lead for performance in the base station-on-chip space, while directly addressing multiple needs of OEMs and service providers alike.”

The B4860 is one of the first single-chip LTE base station products to support three sectors of 20 MHz, and is designed to replace today’s channel cards that can include up to six discrete devices. In addition to simplified design and board-level efficiency resulting from reduced part counts, the B4860 provides 4x cost reduction and 3x power reduction compared to similarly deployed discrete solutions. It is one of the only solutions on the market that supports a true macro base station capable of processing from antenna IQ samples to backhaul IP network, and one of the first SoCs to comply with the LTE-Advanced standard (3GPP release 10, dated March 2011). It also supports Multi-RAT (i.e multi-standard) and Multimode (i.e LTE-A, LTE and WCDMA) standards simultaneously. 

Freescale expects to begin sampling of QorIQ Qonverge B4860 devices in Q2 2012. For more information, visit www.freescale.com/QorIQQonverge

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About Freescale Semiconductor

Freescale Semiconductor (NYSE:FSL) is a global leader in embedded processing solutions, providing industry leading products that are advancing the automotive, consumer, industrial and networking markets. From microprocessors and microcontrollers to sensors, analog integrated circuits and connectivity – our technologies are the foundation for the innovations that make our world greener, safer, healthier and more connected. Some of our key applications and end-markets include automotive safety, hybrid and all-electric vehicles, next generation wireless infrastructure, smart energy management, portable medical devices, consumer appliances and smart mobile devices. The company is based in Austin, Texas, and has design, research and development, manufacturing and sales operations around the world. www.freescale.com

Supporting quotes from Freescale partners

Enea

“Enea offers deep knowledge of both Freescale’s StarCore DSP technology and Power Architecture cores as part of our broad portfolio of software solutions that support Freescale’s networking IP,” said Tobias Lindquist, chief technology officer at Enea. “We are excited to include support for Freescale’s first macrocell baseband processors based on the innovative QorIQ Qonverge multimode platform.”

Green Hills Software

“Our long history of optimized support for Freescale’s multicore and multiprocessor platforms continues with support for the Power Architecture® technology in Freescale’s new large cell base station-on-chip solution,” said Dan Mender, vice president of Business Development, Green Hills Software. “QorIQ customers turn to Green Hills for the most secure and reliable real-time operating system, world class optimizing compiler technology and advanced trace debugging. We look forward to helping developers and OEMs realize the ultra high performance of Freescale’s impressive new QorIQ Qonverge B4860 SoC.”

Mentor Graphics

“As Freescale’s preferred Linux provider, Mentor Graphics is excited about the introduction of the QorIQ Qonverge B4860 multimode SoC, which marks another significant advancement for the wireless industry,” said Glenn Perry, general manager of the Mentor Graphics Embedded Software Division. “We look forward to working with our mutual customers by enabling them to efficiently develop Linux and open source-based embedded systems with Mentor Embedded Linux and Sourcery CodeBench.”

Wind River

“Freescale’s QorIQ Qonverge B4860 SoC will help OEMs and service providers meet the challenges associated with the changing wireless infrastructure space,” said Roger Williams, vice president of Alliances and Business Development at Wind River. “Wind River’s comprehensive portfolio of industry leading embedded software is ideal for unleashing the performance and capabilities of Freescale’s latest Qonverge offering.”