In its first year, Cambridge Silicon Radio (CSR) will focus on the Bluetooth specification created by Ericsson, IBM, Intel, Nokia and Toshiba for wireless networking. The company claims it will be first to offer a complete Bluetooth interface as a single CMOS chip that integrates a 2.4-GHz radio transceiver, baseband circuitry and a microcontroller.

But CSR also claims to have developed proprietary protocols for use in industrial and medical markets that provide lower-cost alternatives to Bluetooth as well as longer battery lifetimes. CSR is also eyeing higher data rates.

"Our integrated circuits have the highest level of integration, combining radio-frequency, baseband and microprocessor functions on a single silicon chip," said James Collier, cofounder and technical director of CSR. "Our chips will allow customers and even whole industries . . . to add radio communications to their products."

Marketing director Glenn Collinson said CSR aims to offer prototypes of its single-chip Bluetooth wireless interface later this year and to move to volume production in mid-2000. The design will use a proprietary microcontroller architecture developed at Cambridge Consultants.

Backed by venture groups 3i, Amadeus Capital Partners and Glide IT Fund, CSR starts with a staff of nine from the product-development division at Cambridge Consultants. It expects to expand to 25 within a year.

Though CSR is pitching itself as a fabless chip company, Collinson said, "We will consider licensing our technology on a case-by-case basis. We offer the appropriate software as well as the hardware." Any licensing deal "would probably involve hardware and software," he said.