Cheap chip heralds rise of DAB handers

Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) radios will be on sale by the end of the year at prices that are almost down to those of conventional analog models, in a development that will have profound implications for handheld computers.

Manufacturers will be able to build the guts of a receiver - everything except the case, dials and speakers - for around £30, using a reference design born of a partnership between UK DAB specialist Radioscape and US giant Texas Instruments (TI), a world leader in signal processing chips.

It means that DAB radios costing less than £100 should be on sale by Christmas. This is a third of the price of current models and less than a twentieth of prices charged only a couple of years ago.

Radioscape, which has focused on producing software-configurable radios, developed the technology behind Psion's futuristic looking Wavefinder radio. Psion has a stake in the company. At the heart of the new design is a TI TMS320DRE20 signal processor packing Radioscape software.

TI is a world leader in digital signal processor chips, which are optimised for use in communications.

DAB is of particular interest for mobile use, because the technology was developed specifically to improve the reception on car radios. One problem with moving analog receivers is that you get fading and 'ghosting' caused by signals bouncing off buildings and interfering with each other.

A good reception

DAB uses this effect to improve reception, using the reflections to help stitch together the received data stream. Most leading local radio stations now offer DAB services, and all radio broadcasting is eventually expected to go digital as it makes better use of the available spectrum.

The new DAB chip draws too much current (about 200 milliamps) for handheld devices, but it will be fine for car radios, and far more frugal versions are in the pipeline.

The combination of DAB and handheld or in-car computers will be potent. Local stations will be able to carousel maps and other information - sponsored by local businesses - as users enter a locality; downloading or (it must be said) pirating music in MP3 or other compact formats is also a possibility.

These services were among the potential revenue earners touted for third-generation (3G) mobile services. But Robin Shephard, marketing manager at Radioscape, believes DAB will increase rather than cut the use of 3G. "People will use 3G for the back channel," he said.

The implications do not stop there. It makes no sense to have separate devices, or modules within devices, to support emerging wireless technologies like Bluetooth, WiFi (802.1b), 3G and 2.5G.

Radioscape expects to see a convergence between them over the coming three to five years, leading to mobiles with a single integrated signal processing unit capable of supporting all these mobile links. "We are developing software to enable multiple standards to be supported by a single platform," Shephard said.

But the key challenge is on the hardware side. "We've learned to accept that our mobile communicators are the size of cell phones or PDAs, which is not unrealistic. It is about the right size. Therefore, the semiconductor industry has to develop powerful enough chipsets."

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