The ambitious dream of being able to connect to people anytime, anywhere is not fading away, even though Iridium and Global Star have yet to see through their promises 10 years after their projects launched in the early 90's. Hindered by the high costs of their global cell phones with their $3/minute rates, these two companies did not attract enough subscribers to offset the costs of their operation.

Today the techies have shed light on the dream again in a different way since Wi-Fi hotspots began cropping up across the United States. Wi-Fi manufacturers from Taiwan have played a very important role in making this happen. However, this is just the beginning before we reach that high and alluring dream - a net that melds wireless personal-, local-, and metropolitan-area networks, allowing users to connect whenever and wherever they wish. Following the success of Wireless LAN 802.11b products that launched in 1999, the wireless industry is moving toward low-cost and small form-factor devices with more capabilities and features. Thus, modern communication transceivers will be highly integrated onto a single silicon substrate using standard low-cost CMOS fabrication technology. This presents a particular design challenge for RFIC engineers attempting to integrate as many radio components as possible onto a single silicon substrate while both standards and consumers are requiring ever more aggressive radio performance. The devil is in the details.

Why is CMOS the right choice? Does a single chip outperform two chips? Will software defined radio (SDR) replace traditional radio architecture? Will ultra-wide band (UWB) become the next standard over Wi-Fi in the wireless home entertainment center? All of these issues, and more, will be addressed in the forum. The forum will also promote the collaboration and interaction between Taiwan and Silicon Valley, USA. This forum will gather experts and visionaries from Taiwan and America to exchange their knowledge and experiences in the RFIC design, fabrication, and the wireless market trend, and will conclude with a win-win strategy for enhancing RFIC technology in USA and Taiwan.

The program will start with LinkAir Chairman Dr. William C. Y. Lee. He will address the new challenges in the mobile wireless communications, fixed wireless access (FWA), and their impact on the IC industry. Many wireless standards including non-standards and emerging standards and protocols will be reviewed. Will the 802.11a/b/g become the mainstream for the next decade? Will ZigBee and Bluetooth find their market shares? Mr. Victor Tsao, VP and General Manager of Linksys, will share his vision in the wireless networking for home and small business users with the audience.

Are the wireless network products going to drive the next economic boom? Will Taiwan-based RFIC industry become major suppliers for the low-cost and reliable wireless devices in the post-PC era? What is the best business model for US high-tech companies after the dot-com bubble? Dr. Teresa H. Meng, Founder and CTO of Atheros Communications, will present the state-of-the-art developments of the wireless LAN technology and the opportunities for future innovations. Dr. Thomas H. Lee from Stanford University will talk about the RF CMOS in the next decade.

From the Taiwan side, Dr. Ming-Dou Ker of National Chiao Tung University will present an overview of the RFIC development in Taiwan industry. Dr. Yi-Jen Chan of National Central University will present the advances in the RFIC research in Taiwan and how they contribute to the Taiwan RFIC industry.

Dr. Jeff Tsai of TSMC will give a talk on their RFIC development using CMOS and other technology and their road map to the next generation RFIC processing. He will also talk about how they can help customers improve the yield of CMOS RFIC fabrication.