This is the story of Bithium, a company focusing on wireless communications, and which had a turnover of 200 thousand euros since its first year of activity.

www.bithium.com

Created in early 2001, bithium can take pride in having closed important international contracts and of contributing towards the development of a promising area: wireless voice and data communication. With regard to this area, where DECT (Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications) technology is included, the bithium team has gained a vast experience from the work carried out at INESC (Computer and Systems Engineering Institute) and at the Instituto Superior Técnico. "We were among the first to develop projects in this area, which we continue to do at INESC", says António Muchaxo, promoter and founding partner of the company.

The idea of creating Bithium began to take shape a little later, when in 1998 the same team presented a prototype of a data communications system using DECT at CeBIT, together with TAPE and INESC. "Afterwards we were involved in a project for National Semiconductor Corporation (a telecommunications equipment manufacturer). We designed the communications system for a WebPAD, also known as the wireless browser, to be used to access the Internet", he adds. It was at this time that things changed and the idea took on a business shape. 

AITEC, one of the oldest and largest national groups of Information Technologies and Electronics, decided to invest in four members of the original team and two teachers from the Instituto Superior Técnico, creating Bithium. This wasn't, however, a shot in the dark, for right from the start there were some contracts and potential customers, all from abroad.

The first big contract came with Hagnuk, a large German manufacturer. Others emerged immediately after from many different countries, such as Sweden, Holland and the USA. "At this stage, it is important to highlight the close collaboration with National Semiconductor Corporation", points out António Muchaxo. A partnership which has held steady until the present day.

"2002 is showing great promise, for new contracts and opportunities have appeared", states the company's promoter. The proof of this is the recently signed contract with a Canadian company for the licensing of a voice communications protocol for a wireless telephone to be distributed in the USA. Another of the company stars is the DPRS protocol, a data communications protocol over DECT that works as a compatibility standard between different manufacturers.

These new opportunities represent a different stage for Bithium, since at the beginning the company was limited to the development and licensing of specific software for this area (also known as communication protocols stack). Today, this Portuguese company has evolved to the point where not only does it license the protocol, but also the hardware platform on which it runs. Offering a sneak preview, António Muchaxo tells us of a third stage: "When we will be capable of selling the whole module".

During 2002, the people in charge of Bithium expect to concentrate on the generation of chips for 10 Mb data and voice communication. "Besides that, we are also developing systems based onBluetooth and HomeRF technologies. In that specific area, we are establishing a partnership with a manufacturer which will allow us to provide a complete solution".

New projects and the recovery of the world economy are spurring the growth of this young company, which has already shown a high short-term growth potential and is definitively a story of success in the Portuguese industry.

DPRS/DMAP stack
DPRS (DECT Packet Radio Services) (ETSI EN301649) should in the next few years become a popular standard as far as data wireless communications is concerned within the European countries. DMAP (DECT Multimedia Application Profile) combines the data communications capabilities of DPRS with voice communications according to GAP specification.

GAP stack
GAP (Generic Access Profile) has become a standard within the DECT standard for voice only equipments for residential or SOHO environments. Our GAP stack is designed for National Semiconductor baseband processors. Besides the usual DECT layers (MAC, DLC and NETWORK) it also includes the IWU that interfaces with the ENI (External Network Interface). This isolated piece of software (the ENI) runs in an independent task and controls the network to which the FP (Fixed Part) is hooked to or controls the user interface in the PP (Portable Part).

2.4GHz and non-blind slot DECT solutions
2.4GHz solutions are provided for the US market. These are also DECT based solutions that can either be used to carry voice only, data only or voice and data communications. Non-blind slot DECT solutions are based on our DPRS/DMAP stack and are adapted to the customer's specific needs. 

UBS DECT wireless modem
This solution is based again on our DPRS/DMAP stack. It enables end-users to easily browse the web on their PCs no matter where they stand and if there is a telephone line there or not. 

PCMCIA DECT wireless modem
This solution is based again on our DPRS/DMAP stack. It enables laptop and notebook users to browse the web at home or in the office.

Bithium Sistemas de Telecomunicações, S.A.
Av. Defensores de Chaves, 
Nº. 15 - 3º A
1000-109 Lisboa
Tel: (+351) 21 3304224
Fax: (+351) 21 3304225
www.bithium.com