Mitel taps IBM to produce PowerPC-based digital TV chips

Mitel taps IBM to produce PowerPC-based digital TV chips
By Semiconductor Business News
May 22, 2001 (1:47 p.m. EST)
URL: http://www.eetimes.com/story/OEG20010522S0047

LONDON -- IBM Corp. and Mitel Corp. today announced a partnership aimed at producing new PowerPC-based ICs with MPEG-2 video processing capabilities for digital TV and digital broadcasting services.

The new system-on-chip (SoC) products will be designed and marketed by Mitel worldwide and manufactured by IBM Microelectronics.

The two companies said the partnership combines Mitel's expertise in demodulation and digital television technologies with IBM's PowerPC-based set-top box controller functions and copper-chip processing technology. A range of SoC devices are now planned for new integrated digital TV (iDVT) sets and advanced set-top boxes.

As part of the alliance, Mitel and IBM have entered into a licensing and manufacturing pact. Mitel's ICs will be fabricated by IBM, using a 0.18-micron CMOS copper chip technology.

"The adoption of digital TV depends significantly on semiconductor companies designing highly integrated and cost -effective chips for manufacturers," said Paul Fellows, DTV product line manager at Mitel Semiconductor. "We are working closely with our lead customers to help them deploy iDTV [integrated digital television] sets and other products which fully exploit Mitel's silicon and software capabilities."

According to a forecast by Cahners In-Stat Group, the global market for digital TV will reach $4 billion by 2004, an increase from $800 million in 2000.

Mitel's first digital TV chips will be aimed at the European digital video broadcasting terrestrial (DVB-T) standard.