Fractus Intros TVNext

BARCELONA, Spain -- Fractus, the pioneer developer of fractalantenna technology, has launched TVNext, a slim and compact internal VHFantenna (20 x 10 x 1.6mm) that can easily be integrated into wirelessdevices, such as mobile phones, PDAs, and laptops. The new antenna alsocompletes Fractus' digital TV antenna portfolio, which now encompasses allmobile TV systems and frequency bands.

"A mass market for mobile TV depends greatly on the availability of slim,fashionable devices. With its reduced size and cost, TVNext will open thedoors for the next generation of portable TV devices," said Alfonso Sanz,Fractus product manager, Products & Services Division.

VHF operates in a low frequency band (200MHz); therefore a traditionalantenna design approach requires an antenna that is more than two times aslong as most mobile TV devices. That means the handset requires a largeretractable antenna, making antenna integration more complex and costly.Additionally, a retractable antenna poses severe limitations to handset'sdesign.

Using its patented fractal antenna technologies, Fractus has designed aninternal VHF antenna that offers reduced size, simple integration into adevice and an excellent level of performance in terms of gain andefficiency. By resolving key mobile TV antenna integration and costchallenges, TVNext enables device manufacturers to design low-cost andhighly-efficient portable TV devices, accelerating the mass market forMobile TV.

TVNext completes the Fractus portfolio for digital TV applications, whichnow includes antenna solutions for all frequency bands, including VHF, UHFand L-band; and for all mobile TV systems being deployed around the world,such as DVB-H, mediaFLO and ISDB-T. Fractus was the first antennamanufacturer to launch a suite of DVB-H internal antennas, enabling theworld's smallest mobile TV handset with an internal antenna - Sagem'smyMobileTV handset.

By using low cost surface-mounted technology (SMT), TVNext eliminates theneed for new manufacturing processes or materials. The VHF antenna is 50 ohmterminated, linear polarized and omnidirectional - as well as RoHScompliant.

Fractus SA