WiSig Networks Licenses CEVA to Power WiSig NB-IoT SoC Development

CEVA, Inc. (NASDAQ: CEVA), the leading licensor of signal processing platforms and artificial intelligence processors for smarter, connected devices, today announced that WiSig Networks, a developer of 5G wireless technology products and an incubatee of the Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad, has licensed the CEVA-Dragonfly NB2 IP solution to rapidly develop a 3GPP Rel.14 compliant eNB-IoT System-on-Chip (SoC). The SoC will be deployed in systems and products for India's leading mobile network operators to enable a range of services including asset tracking, home, building and industrial automation, smart grid, agriculture and remote monitoring. India plans to begin nationwide NB-IoT deployment in 2020, with more than 2 billion IoT devices expected to be connected to the country's cellular networks in the next few years.

Dr. Kiran Kuchi, Founding Director of WiSig Networks, commented: "The CEVA-Dragonfly NB2 IP provides us with a proven and comprehensive solution that significantly reduces the complexity of cellular technology development and accelerates the design and development of our eNB-IoT SoCs. We look forward to continuing our collaboration with CEVA on other Mobile IoT and 5G projects targeting the thriving Indian mobile network ecosystem."

"We are excited to see innovative companies like WiSig Networks thrive in the new era of 5G," said Ange Aznar, vice president and general manager of the Wireless IoT Business Unit at CEVA. "With its strong technical team and the power of the CEVA-Dragonfly NB2 IP, WiSig is determined to make a big splash in the Indian semiconductor industry, delivering home-grown cellular technology solutions for a massive mobile market of over 1 billion subscribers."

The CEVA-Dragonfly NB2 IP solution consists of the IoT DSP processor CEVA-X1, optimized RF transceiver, baseband and protocol stack, which are independently licensed modules. It can provide a complete Release 14 Cat-NB2 modem IP solution, which greatly shortens the time to market and lowers the entry barrier. The solution is fully software-configurable and can also be extended to multi-satellite GNSS and sensor fusion. This IP also provides reference design chips, which include a complete modem, an optional embedded CMOS RF transceiver and PA, an advanced digital front end, physical layer firmware and a protocol stack (MAC, RLC, PDCP, RRC and NAS).