Bengaluru-based semiconductor manufacturing company Signalchip launched “India’s first indigenous” semiconductor chips which could be used in 4G/LTE and 5G NR Modem applications. 

Background: 

• Mobile communication standards are classified in terms of generations or “g”. 
  
  
• The 2g networks had a maximum data rate of 64 Kilobits per second (Kbps) and could barely pass data required for multimedia messaging service (MMS). 
  
  
• The 3g networks have a maximum data rate of 2 Megabits per second (Mbps) and are capable of sending and receiving a host of data applications including web pages, etc. 
  
  
• In 2008, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) promulgated the 4g standards which had peak data speeds ranging from 100 Mbps (for mobile devices) to 1 Gigabits per second (Gbps) for static hot spots. 
  
  

About Long Term Evolution (LTE) Segment in Global Cellular Market:  

• Since none of the cellular networks were able to achieve these data ranges, LTE as a marketing terminology was coined to specify those systems and devices which had progressed far beyond the 3g data rates but were yet to achieve the 4g data rates. 
  
  
• Meaning: Thus, 4g LTE written near the antenna symbol on the mobile phone specified that the peak data rates were higher than 2 Mbps but had not yet achieved 100 Mbps. 
  
  
• Application: The LTE chipsets are used in network transmission systems and user terminal devices like smart phones, tablets, mobile hotspots, USB dongles, ultra-books and host of Internet of Things (IoT) devices. 
  
  
• Global scenario: 
  • The LTE market is expected to garner business of up to US$ 997 billion and grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 58.2 per cent during 2013-2020. 
    
    
  • Qualcomm is the market leader with 65 per cent of the market share. Its microprocessor Snapdragon 820 is the heart of Samsung top end smartphone Galaxy S7 as well as LG G5. 
    
    
  
  
  

Recent development: Chips unveiled 

• Four chips were unveiled at the event designed by SIGNALCHIP. 
  
  
• SCBM3412: a single chip 4G/LTE modem including the baseband and transceiver sections in a single device. 
  
  
• SCBM3404: a single chip 4X4 LTE baseband modem. 
  
  
• SCRF3402: a 2X2 transceiver for LTE. 
  
  
• SCRF4502: a 2X2 transceiver for 5G NR standards. 
  
  

Significance: 

• The launch of the chips was significant as India is entering an elite club. At present only 8 companies and a few countries can design and build semiconductor chips. 
  
  
• This will have huge implications on the country’s data security and sovereignty besides having economic implications. 
  
  
• India cannot afford to lag behind while US and China are battling it out for the upperhand in ICT technology. 
  
  
• The launch of a world class product by SIGNALCHIP is start of the Third Wave, after Software and IndiaStack as First and Second wave. 
  
  

Project SHAKTI: 

• The news comes after another achievement i.e. Project SHAKTI of the IIT Madras, which in August 2018 announced the development of a family of six types of microprocessors with the initial batch of 300 chips of Class C processor called RISECREEK being manufactured free of cost by Intel Corporation at their facility in Oregon. 
  
  
• Development of indigenous microprocessors not only opens up immense business opportunities in the ICT space but provides a very high degree of security and assurance to strategic cyber systems ranging from space, infrastructure and navigation to power, defence and nuclear. 
  
  

Lessons from Zoho Corporation: 

• Zoho Corporation is a fully private owned company. Today, the company has over 25 products and 50 mobile apps and boasts of having a worldwide user base of 35 million and revenue of Rs. 2,468 crores. 
  
  
• The company runs a university which picks up talented youth from low income households and after training absorbs them in its workplace. Almost 15 per cent of the 3,600 employees of Zoho Corp are Zoho University graduates. Also, the amount of time and effort placed on Research & Development (R&D) is worth a mention. 
  
  
• In a sense, Zoho Corp is a role model for Indian companies trying to enter the highly competitive and niche field of ICT manufacturing and services. 
  
  

Way ahead for India: 

• The next step in becoming a true power house in the ICT arena would be development of indigenous systems and technologies covering the entire gamut of ICT ecosystem ranging from high end servers and routers to last mile modems and smart phones. 
  
  
• India, being the second largest smartphone market in the world, definitely needs to encourage and incentivise home-grown ICT industry for not only giving a boost to its ‘Skill India’ and ‘Make in India’ initiatives but also to provide cyber autonomy to its critical cyber assets. 
  
  
• In addition, there is an urgent need to have the entire gamut of ICT infostructure to be indigenously manufactured including the much awaited Galium Nitride fab as proposed by the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. 
  
  

https://idsa.in/idsacomments/Indigenous-lte-chipset-is-such-a-big-deal-achhibbar-250219