RF ICs serve handsets and base stations

WIRELESS industry growth in the US has led to a proliferation of providers, each of which offers its services on one of two different frequency bands - 900 MHz or 1900 MHz - and one of two different modulation schemes - frequ ency modulation (FM) for Advanced Mobile Phone Service (AMPS), or code-divi sion multiple access (CDMA) for cellular and personal communications servic es (PCS). This has resulted in incompatibility among services, and confusio n for handset users. To remedy this situation, some providers are establish ing an overarching organization that combines several services under one "b anner." This consolidation allows the banner provider to offer its users ac cess to all three wireless modes available in the US - 900-MHz AMPS, 900-MH z cellular, and 1900-MHz PCS. It also creates a demand for handsets that ca n operate in these three modes. To help handset manufacturers meet this dem and, Agilent Technologies (Santa Clara, CA), has developed an upconverter/d river amplifier chip for dual-band, tsi-mode handsets.