Qualcomm delivers 3G EV-DO software enhancements

February 12, 2004

Qualcomm announced software upgrades to the CSM5500 Cell Site Modem (CSM) device that enable CDMA2000 1xEV-DO Revision 0 to be the first cellular technology to support Quality of Service (QoS) and Multicast. QoS and Multicast are advanced capabilities that enable 1xEV-DO networks worldwide to support compelling end-user applications, such as high-quality video delivery, video telephony, instant multimedia chat or interactive 3D network gaming.

The enhanced CSM5500 software, commercially released in December 2003, offers a seamless upgrade for existing 1xEV-DO Release 0 networks by taking advantage of existing infrastructure with no additional hardware and ensuring faster time-to-market for new services. Key feature CDMA2000 1xEV-DO enhancements enabled by the software upgrade to Qualcomm's CSM5500 device include:

- Quality of Service (QoS): The QoS feature improves the user's multimedia experience by enabling the system to manage various users and applications with different levels of priority. The system also has the ability to recognize the delay and bandwidth requirements of different data traffic and make sure that those requirements are met efficiently. Operators can then offer tiered services and multiple pricing options for applications such as video telephony and interactive network gaming.

- Multicast: The Multicast feature provides flexible and efficient transmission of multimedia content to multiple users to achieve a cost-efficient use of air time and network resources. Multicast enables a single Internet source to send data, such as video, simultaneously to multiple users who subscribe to the service. Multicast will allow operators to offer video and audio services that turn the wireless device into a sophisticated mobile information center.