NEW ORLEANS-Lucent Technologies Inc.’s Microelectronics Group introduced a Code Division
Multiple Access chip that uses technology with origins in the airline industry to make it easier to understand cellular
phone callers in noisy environments, such as airports and restaurants.
Called the EVRC+, the chip is based on
Lucent’s Enhanced Variable Rate Codec technology and uses Voice Intelligibility Processor technology from SRS Labs
Inc., Santa Ana, Calif.
Although Lucent doesn’t yet have any contracts for the EVRC+, the company’s EVRC
technology-introduced in 1997-has been deployed in more than 6 million CDMA cell phones, primarily in South
Korea. It is used widely in handsets in the South Korean market to increase network capacity without sacrificing voice
quality, said Lucent. More than 98 percent of Korea’s EVRC-based cellular CDMA phones are equipped with Lucent’s
EVRC technology, the company said.
Lucent has sold its EVRC-based chips to several companies, including
Hyundai Electronics Industries Co. Ltd., LG Information & Communications Ltd. and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. in
South Korea. The technology also is used in Israel, according to Lucent.
VIP is a technology new to
telecommunications, but known for improving audio communications for airlines, train stations and sports stadiums-
traditionally plagued by unintelligible announcements due to background noise.
However, VIP doesn’t use noise-
cancellation technology to make it easier for listeners. “It is the first technology to deal with the speech rather
than the noise,” explained SRS spokeswoman Jennifer Drescher. Instead of trying to cut out the background noise
or simply amplify the caller’s voice, VIP operates on the speech itself, processing those portions of the voice signals the
brain uses for cognition.
“This means cellular phone manufacturers can avoid adding complicated noise-
management schemes to their phones, thereby lowering the number of components necessary and enabling smaller,
more cost-effective products,” said Lucent.
Handset makers don’t have to redesign their phones to incorporate
the EVRC+ technology, said Sanjeev Batra, Lucent Microelectronics’ product marketing manager, worldwide cellular
CDMA/PDC wireless communications products. Manufacturers would only have to add a couple of new lines of
programming, as well as a button on the phone for users to activate the VIP function when needed.
EVRC+ can be
deployed rapidly in CDMA cellular phones because it is pin-compatible with Lucent’s EVRC chip, said Lucent.
The
chip goes along with the whole strategy within the chipset community for providing vendors with speedy time-to-
market solutions. Its introduction also goes along with Lucent’s goal of making cell phones easier to use, said
Batra.
“We’re looking for features that will help consumers,” he said. “Something like VIP helps
with one of the most basic features, which is to talk to people and understand them.”
EVRC+ is language
independent since it focuses on speech production rather than specific words.
Samples of EVRC+ are scheduled to
be available in the second quarter, with production quantities slated for third quarter. The device is priced at $50 in
sample quantities.
