Unwiring the world: Carlsbad company making big changes in wireless technology

By: BRADLEY J. FIKES - Staff Writer | Saturday, October 7, 2006 5:08 PM PDT ∞

CARLSBAD ---- Mobile computing used to mean that you plugged in your laptop computer to a phone line, or, if one were really lucky, a high-speed wired outlet. Then came high-speed wireless, largely due to improved technology from San Diego's Qualcomm Inc., and computers were unleashed from their data umbilical cords.

These faster speeds have pushed the frontier of mobile computing away from laptops and into cell phones, personal digital assistants or PDAs, and other mobile devices such as wireless credit card readers.

Companies such as Sierra Wireless, which has a research and development facility in Carlsbad, are exploring that frontier. Here's a look behind the scenes at how it works.

Sierra's Carlsbad office used to be a separate company called AirPrime, which developed wireless PC data cards and modules embedded into other products, using Qualcomm's technology. One of the first high-speed PC cards for Verizon Wireless is the PC 5220. That card was engineered by AirPrime, although its name is not on the card. Sierra Wireless bought AirPrime in 2003, and used the Carlsbad office as its connection to San Diego County's large pool of wireless talent.

Right now, Sierra Wireless is preparing for a boost in wireless transmission speed, courtesy of new Qualcomm technology, said Jim Kirkpatrick, chief technology officer of Sierra Wireless.

Kirkpatrick said he expects increased bandwidth to be gobbled up quickly.

"The faster you can make the modems, the more applications people will run that suck up that bandwidth," he said. "Wireless is no different."

Middle link


Sierra Wireless and competitors such as Novatel Wireless, also in San Diego, usually don't sell to the direct consumer. They are a middle link between the technology inventors and companies that sell to the public.

Qualcomm and its rivals do basic wireless research and technology development. Sierra Wireless places the technologies into chips and devices, Kirkpatrick said. It further refines the technologies to meet the specifications of the wireless carriers. Sierra Wireless also does contract testing for wireless products.

"Our core competency is airlink innovation," Kirkpatrick said. "As a provider of mobile computing products, we're typically the company that has to be first for these network modules. They need data products to test the network to get the network ready."

For example, he said, Sierra Wireless supplied testing products to Cingular Wireless to help it prepare its high-speed "3G" network, which was launched last year. And retail consumers may appreciate a Sierra Wireless laptop modem that is plugged into a USB port, instead of a PC card slot. The USB cable allows the modem to be more easily placed for good reception than one stuck in a PC card, Kirkpatrick said.

Before products go out the door, they must undergo brutal testing.

Sierra maintains a testing lab where, among other things, the hinges on wireless cards are repeatedly folded by a machine until they break. Devices are also baked, frozen and dropped onto a concrete surface.

That's because customers can be pretty brutal with their devices, Kirkpatrick said. They'll drop them and expect them to keep working. Besides retail consumers, the customers include government or private companies in "vertical" applications, or narrowly defined niches.

"At one time, we estimated we had 80 percent of the public safety market for rugged mobiles," Kirkpatrick said. "The prime examples are police cars, ambulances, fire, those types of entities. They have our rugged mobiles typically in their trunk, and have a PC or laptop up front that's connected to that rugged mobile."

Tough but sensitive


Sensitivity is important as well. The devices must be able to pick up and transmit the correct radio frequency signals. The company tests for sensitivity with what it calls an "anechoic" chamber, shielded against stray radio frequencies and sound. It's covered with conic sections of blue foam.

The anechoic chamber has a platform on which the device is mounted and can be rotated. An array of antennas extends around the device, measuring responsiveness in 360 degrees.

"We may have an embedded module, we may have an adaptor card for laptops, or nowadays, we may have embedded modules in laptops," Kirkpatrick said. "Also, there are many vertical applications we support, for example telemetry devices ---- there might be some modem that's sitting on an oil pump and monitoring the rate of flow. The number of applications is amazing."

Contact staff writer Bradley J. Fikes at (760) 739-6641 or bfikes@nctimes.com.

First name only. Comments including last names, contact addresses, e-mail addresses or phone numbers will be deleted. Attempts to misrepresent your identity or impersonate any person will not be approved. All comments are screened before they appear online, so please keep them brief. Comments reflect the views of those commenting and not necessarily those of the North County Times or its staff writers. Click here to view additional comment policies.