Blu-Wireless Technology Selects Sonics' On-chip Networks to Develop New Class of High-Speed Wireless Communications

U.K.-based Semiconductor Innovator Preps New Wireless SoCs for Emerging    60 GHz Market to Offer 100x Bandwidth for Multi-Gigabit Communications

MILPITAS, Calif. – December 14, 2011 – Sonics, Inc.®, the world’s number one supplier of on-chip communications IP, today announced that it has signed Blu-Wireless as its newest customer to help the company design ultra high-performance wireless  communications processors targeting the new globally unlicensed 60 GHz market.  

Blu-Wireless has licensed SonicsSX™ and SonicsExpress™ for increased performance enhancements, design simplification and superior power efficiencies for its new line of wireless SoCs. The increased bandwidth (up to 100x) will support a new generation of multi-gigabit communications for the latest consumer electronics and personal area network applications—including the latest Wi-Fi networks and streaming uncompressed, full-quality HDTV to wafer-thin flat screen TVs.

As a pioneer in the emerging “WiGig”market, Blu-Wireless is well poised to fuel the next class of high-speed wireless communications.  Today, new industry consortia and standards are geared to support an entirely new category of applications—notably those from the Wi-Fi/WiGig Alliances.  This critical standardization will drive the infrastructure for 60 GHz communications as well as the next-generation of high throughput wireless technology.  Ultimately, these standards will form the core of next-generation Wi-Fi standards for key applications such as HD video streaming, data synchronization for smart phones, PCs, tablets and cameras, as well as a myriad of others demanding short-range, high-bandwidth applications.

"Blu-Wireless is leading the charge for a new category of high-speed wireless processors and we are pleased to team with Sonics as they help us realize impressive frequencies and power efficiencies that will drive our advanced wireless designs," said Henry Nurser, Blu-Wireless Chief Operating Officer.  "Together, SonicsSX and SonicsExpress offer a highly integrated, configurable on-chip network solution to ease design complexities and achieve the maximum performance and power advantages of any on-chip network competitor we considered.”

“Blu-Wireless is at the forefront of an exciting market segment that will spawn an entirely new generation of high-speed wireless solutions for the digital home,” said Jack Browne, senior vice president of sales and marketing.  “Sonics has long been a leader in the wireless space so we are thrilled to be an early design partner for Blu-Wireless as their multi-gigabit communications technology takes flight around the globe.”

About Blu- Wireless

Blu-Wireless Ltd offers complete patented software, SoC and antenna technology solutions for the emerging 60 GHz WiGig standard, and is specifically targeting power and space-critical portable applications.  Founded in 2009, Blu-Wireless is headquartered in Bristol, UK with offices in Japan. For more information, please visit www.bluwirelesstechnology.com.

About Sonics

Sonics, Inc. is a pioneer of network-on-chip (NoC) technology and today offers SoC designers the world's largest portfolio of intelligent, on-chip communications solutions for home entertainment, wireless, networking and mobile devices.  With a broad array of silicon-proven IP, Sonics helps designers eliminate memory bottlenecks associated with complex, high-speed SoC design, streamline and unify data flows and solve persistent network challenges in embedded systems with multiple cores.  As the leading supplier of on-chip communications networks, Sonics has more than 110 patent properties and has enabled its customers to ship more than one billion chips worldwide.  Founded in 1996, Sonics is headquartered in Milpitas, Calif. with offices worldwide.  For more information, please visit www.sonicsinc.com and www.sonicsinc.com/blog.