Visteon & iBiquity Digital Ally to Develop Digital Radios
15 August 2000
COLUMBIA, Md. & WARREN, N.J. - iBiquity Digital, a new company created from the merger of Lucent Digital Radio and USA Digital Radio and the leading developer of digital AM and FM radio broadcast technology, today announced that Visteon, the world's second largest supplier of automotive components and integrated systems, has become an investor in iBiquity Digital.
Visteon joins a prestigious list of investors that includes Lucent Technologies, Viacom Inc.'s Infinity Broadcasting Corporation, and Clear Channel Communications, Inc. Visteon will develop automotive AM and FM digital radios using iBiquity's patented technology.
Visteon recently became independent from Ford Motor Company and Visteon's $19.4 billion in 1999 sales ranks 87th on the Fortune 500 list. Visteon's global customer base, including Ford, General Motors, Honda, and Nissan, have selected Visteon to provide products such as navigation, communication, entertainment, in-car computing, and audio systems for future vehicles.
Concurrent with the announcement of the Visteon-iBiquity strategic alliance, Visteon plans to announce the formation of a new business system focused on telematics and multimedia products. The new telematics and multimedia business system at Visteon will develop an AM and FM digital radio for automotive aftermarket and OEM platforms, using iBiquity Digital's In-Band On-Channel Digital Audio Broadcast (IBOC DAB) technology.
In addition, Visteon will make its Digital Signal Processing (DSP) technology available to select radio chip manufacturers for sale to receiver manufacturers. This DSP technology will act as an enabler to iBiquity Digital's IBOC technology.
Radio in the United States today is broadcast using analog signals. iBiquity Digital's IBOC DAB technology will enable AM and FM broadcasters to send a digital signal, capable of containing CD-quality audio with crystal clear reception and additional wireless data for a variety of consumer applications such as station and program content, stock and news information, local traffic and weather, and much more.
"Visteon is developing innovative products to bring information and entertainment into the vehicle, making them an ideal partner to develop digital AM and FM receivers that will revolutionize the way today's consumers experience radio," said Robert J. Struble, President and CEO, iBiquity Digital. "This alliance will speed the deployment of digital AM and FM broadcasting, bringing CD-quality sound, traffic and weather information on demand, and much more, quickly to market."
"This is a prime example of the strategic alliances we are forming to support our new telematics and multimedia group," said Jim Wynalek, vice president and general manager of Visteon's new business system. "By making our technology widely available and leveraging our expertise in audio systems, we are in a great position to lead the deployment of radios capable of receiving digital broadcasts. Through this alliance with iBiquity, Visteon is taking advantage of its technological leadership and position as the world's largest manufacturer of radio head units to pave the way for the next generation of audio and wireless data systems."
Visteon will showcase its alliance with iBiquity Digital Corporation at Convergence 2000 at the Cobo Center in Detroit, Mich., October 16 - 18.