Frontier Silicon Spearheading Advanced Radio and Connected Audio Technology at IBC 2011

Frontier Silicon, the leading supplier of digital radio and connected audio technology, announced today that its products and developments have become a significant factor in a large number of initiatives in radio which are showcased at IBC this year. This demonstrates the depth of Frontier Silicon´s activities in advanced radio technologies, including DAB/DAB+, DRM30/DRM+, hybrid radio and networked audio.

Frontier Silicon is the leading supplier of solutions for the DAB/DAB+ market and has also been instrumental in the launch of the new national DAB+ commercial and public service broadcasts in Germany during August. At IBC various DAB/DAB+ products using Frontier Silicon technology, including devices using colour touch-screen technology, are on show at the WorldDMB stand.

Interest in hybrid radio, the combination of broadcast and IP delivery for radio services, is growing within the broadcaster community and RadioDNS has developed a set of standards which are being adopted to bring the benefits of hybrid radio technology to the consumer. As a member of the RadioDNS organisation, Frontier Silicon is demonstrating product implementations of RadioVIS, the first commercial application of RadioDNS, on the EBU stand.

"RadioDNS is supported by broadcasters in the US, Europe and Asia-Pacific, who recognise the strength of combining broadcast radio and IP in one seamless experience," said Nick Piggott, Chairperson of RadioDNS. "With Frontier Silicon bringing RadioDNS technology to their customers, we expect to see a wide range of hybrid radios coming to the market in the next twelve months."

"The importance of hybrid Radio is becoming visible to the broadcast community," said Steve Evans, Vice President of Marketing and Business Development at Frontier Silicon. "We are continuing to work closely with RadioDNS, the BBC and other partners to ensure we can deliver hybrid devices to the market in line with broadcaster plans to use these exciting technologies."

Early implementations of DRM30 and DRM+ digital radio standards running on Frontier Silicon´s Kino 3 radio processor, the most broadly used digital radio IC on the market today, are being demonstrated during IBC at various locations during the show. The DRM standards have been developed to address the digital radio needs of developing economies, and All India Radio has already announced its intention to use DRM30 as a significant part of its digitisation plans.

"We are delighted that Frontier Silicon is developing DRM technology." said Ruxandra Obreja, DRM Consortium Chairman. "They have an excellent track record in bringing digital radio technology to the market and we expect that they will be a key supplier for receiver technology in different DRM markets around the world."

"At Frontier Silicon we are constantly evaluating the different radio technologies being deployed worldwide," commented Steve Evans. "The DRM standard is making solid progress in several emerging markets, and with our flexible radio processor architecture we have been able to adapt our existing products to support the development of this market."

Frontier Silicon is also sponsoring the DLNA presence at IBC. Consumer awareness of DLNA is rapidly increasing, as network connectivity finds its way into an increasing number of audio and video devices. Frontier Silicon´s range of modules and software for networked audio products is fully DLNA-compliant and provides manufacturers with a fast time-to-market option for including this technology into table-top radios, micro hi-fi systems and iPhone dockers.

About Frontier Silicon Limited

Frontier Silicon is the world´s leading supplier of integrated circuits and modules for digital audio products. Established in 2001 as a privately funded fabless semiconductor company, Frontier Silicon has over 120 employees. The company is based in London, England, with design centres in Cambridge and Shannon. Frontier Silicon also has branch offices and technical support representation in France, Germany, Hong Kong, China and Japan. Products include complete solutions for digital audio systems including DAB, Internet radio and connected audio, from silicon through software to production-ready platform designs.

Customers include Bang & Olufsen, Bose, Bush, Cyrus, Denon, Dual, Gear4, Goodmans, Grundig, harman/kardon, Hitachi, JVC, Magic Box, Ministry of Sound, NAD, Onkyo, Panasonic, Philips, Pinell, Pioneer, PURE, Revo, Roberts, Sanyo, Sharp, SIRIUS XM, Sony, TEAC, Tivoli Audio, Vita Audio and Yamaha.

Frontier Silicon is a trademark or registered trademark of Frontier Silicon Ltd.