July 28, 2011 -- Cambridge Consultants, Ltd. today launched Sidewinder, the smallest commercially available 2G and 3G small-cell platform. Ideal for use in mobile phone communications and professional radio, Sidewinder is software configurable between GSM/ GPRS/ EDGE, WCDMA/HSPA+ and other SDR applications, providing new levels of adaptability for cellular base stations.

Built for the changing broadband mobile communications market, Sidewinder provides a solution for developers creating products that need to adapt as new wireless technologies and standards emerge. The design enables Sidewinder to operate at any carrier frequency from 375MHz to 4GHz and with a channel bandwidth from 200kHz to 28MHz. Available off-the-shelf, Sidewinder supports GSM link ranges up to and in excess of 40m indoors, and 200m outdoors. Sidewinder can be provided either as hardware supplied directly from Cambridge Consultants, or as a reference design that can be manufactured by licensees. Sidewinder is compatible with Cambridge Consultants' own Centaur GSM/ EDGE PHY software reference and WCDMA software from Picochip. Alternatively, it can also be provided in combination with the Centaur GSM PHY as a complete development platform.

Sidewinder's flexibility is based upon two technologies: On the front end, Sidewinder makes use of the flexible radio device from Lime Microsystems, Ltd. Connected to this is Picochip's latest PC312 Femtocell Baseband SOC, delivering high-performance DSP and an ARM application processor combined with low power consumption, making it suitable for some battery-powered applications. Sidewinder can also be easily integrated into basestation or mobile units for police, emergency services and other professional radio users.

Fraser Edwards, Group Head of Radio Frequency Systems, commented, "In a product environment disrupted by new communications standards and the demand for ever-higher data bandwidth, we wanted to build a low-cost basestation which could be customised for just about any setting. With Sidewinder we have achieved this with the added bonus of being one of the most compact yet powerful designs on the market."