Industry news from the past week:

Companies and Products

ANADIGICS is shipping Wi-Fi PAs for the video link in DJI Phantom 2 Vision drones. Each drone uses four PAs to maintain the link out to 700 m.

Cree introduced a 6 to 12 GHz GaN MMIC PA delivering over 25 W saturated output power with 30 percent power-added efficiency. It's available as a die or packaged. Part number: CMPA601C025D (die) or F (package).

Ericsson is acquiring an IT services company in Guangzhou, China, part of Ericsson's strategy to strengthen the company's position in the world's largest mobile market.

MACOM released a 650 W pulsed GaN on SiC transistor for L-Band avionics. The MAGX-000912-650L00 is in a standard flange package while the MAGX-00912-650LOS is packaged in an earless flange. Both achieve 62 percent drain efficiency and 20 dB gain.

Mercury Systems received a $2 million follow-on order for digital RF memory (DRFM) jammers from the U.S. Navy.

Microsemi announced it will acquire Vitesse Semiconductor, a GaAs pioneer, for $389 million. The acquisition is yet one more example of the continuing semiconductor consolidation. The Deal Pipeline analyzes the trend.

DARPA awarded Raytheon $5 million to develop phased arrays faster. Their approach is based on digital beamforming and a reconfigurable antenna.

Markets

OpenSignal has compiled a database of LTE speeds and coverage, by country and operator.

The FCC granted Google a six-month license to test Internet delivery via drone over 520 square miles of New Mexico.

Zahid Ghadialy assesses LTE for aircraft-to-ground communication, both for aircraft data and broadband apps. It's a feasible alternative to satellite, at least over populated areas.

Several items on 5G: DSL Reports says 5G marketing is way ahead of 5G reality, since 5G hasn't even been defined. However 5G is defined, channel models are critical to successful development, writes Tommi Jamsa of Anite. Even if they don't know what it is, the 3GPP has published a tentative timeline for 5G development:

From last week's CeBIT conference, five examples of the Internet of Things, including a bike that calls for help if you crash.

Career Path

Three Verizon executives give career advice for women entering tech. Anything you would add?

Are there other companies or markets that you'd like me to follow? Leave a comment or send an email to glerude at mwjournal.com. Feedback welcome.