Sirius to Introduce Updated Chipset

Sirius Satellite Radio will introduce its second generation chipset for its satellite radios during the fourth quarter of this year. The news means Sirius will move from a black box product to getting its technology in the dashboard. That, in turn, means fewer production costs which translate to lower radio prices on store shelves. XM recently made this move in some radio models.
The new chipset uses Agere Systems’ 0.13 micron, 6-Layer Metal technology to integrate all digital portions of the receiver circuitry, excluding memory, into a single chip. Analog and mixed signal integrated circuits complete the chip set. This reduces the entire component dimensions to the size of a credit card, said the company.
“This new chipset will accelerate our plans to introduce second generation Sirius radios into the marketplace,” said Sirius President/CEO Joseph Clayton. “We are excited to be moving forward in a dynamic way with our technology partner Agere, and are eager to reap the benefits of this technology in terms of cost, performance and efficiency.” The new chipset includes improvements over the existing design besides the size reduction, including a 50% cut in required power and better thermal management to reduce heat. Sirius says the new design will lower its total system cost by nearly 50%. Edwin Muth, Managing Director of Agere Systems’ satellite radio component business, said, “The reduction in power and overall component count is key in enabling car radio manufacturers to offer a fully integrated receiver in the dashboard.”