February 02, 2004

By: Yen Hung
Website: http://www.1st-in-cell-phones.com

Lucent introduces breakthrough chip that makes cellular calls more understandable in noisy environments

Lucent Technologies Microelectronics Group today announced a chip using the Voice Intelligibility Processor™ (VIP) technology from SRS Labs, Inc., that makes cellular phone callers more understandable in noisy environments such as airports, restaurants and trade show floors.

The breakthrough chip, called EVRC+, is based on Lucent's widely deployed Enhanced Variable Rate Codec (EVRC) technology plus the patented VIP technology. EVRC+ marks the first time a VIP-based technology solution has been made available to manufacturers in the telecommunications market. EVRC is voice encoding and decoding technology that increases wireless network capacity without sacrificing voice quality.

EVRC+ also integrates Lucent's ClearEVRC technology into the chip, which helps suppress noisy tones possible under low signal conditions in EVRC-equipped cellular phones. Lucent is introducing its EVRC+ solution at this week's Wireless '99 event in New Orleans.

VIP, which has its origins in the airline industry where noise problems are so pervasive, operates on the voice itself, processing those portions of the voice signals that 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.

Author Notes:

Yen Hung contributes and publishes news editorial to http://www.1st-in-cell-phones.com.  A cellular phone industry resource featuring articles, comparisons and reviews of cellular phone and service plans.