Sigtek Transfers Technology To Civilian Life

By Anthony Mullen



Sigtek was started in 1990 in Columbia, Md., by founder and current President James Shea, with the objective of developing high performance communications systems for various governmental agencies. The company's specialization involved highly complex signal demodulation algorithms which were embedded into reprogrammable hardware architectures. This technology allows the user to find and interpret specific communications signals along a wide spectrum of frequencies.

By basing the technology on this reprogrammable hardware, Sigtek was able to develop products that could evolve along with the changing needs of the customer. When a new signal needed to be captured, Sigtek would develop a new algorithm that would then upgrade the customer's hardware via a software download, avoiding a costly redesign and/or additional hardware purchases. These technologies are now rapidly finding commercial applications in growing broadband cable networks, cellular telephone systems, local area wireless networks and other broadcast medium-based markets.



Improving Cable TV Service

Sigtek products couple cutting-edge technologies such as Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA) and high speed Digital Signal Processors with algorithms to create high performance communications systems at a fraction of the cost of traditional systems. Most recently, Sigtek has introduced a line of products that will enable cable operators to remotely check the performance of cable equipment in individual customer locations. Sigtek was the first company to develop testing technology that ensures cable equipment meets industry specifications. Since 1999, Sigtek has set the industry standard in DOCSIS (Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification) cable modem verification test systems that have been used to certify all DOCSIS cable modems.



Commercializing Technology

Much of Sigtek's technology advances have been in response to work for the Defense department. How and why these government agencies use the technology is, as you can imagine, not something Sigtek will discuss. What Sigtek will talk about is its success in commercializing this technology to make it available to data and voice transmission providers in a number of industries worldwide. Being able to cost-effectively transmit more reliable digital and analog voice and data information over a wide-ranging network will be one of the technologies making the oft-promised benefits of broadband cable and G4 cellular service a reality.

While the science behind the company is highly sophisticated and extremely complicated, the end results are simple; Sigtek provides products that allow their customers to offer better services at a lower cost than can be achieved through the use of existing technologies.

This simple formula for success has helped Sigtek grow from a two-man operation in 1990 to an organization of more than 25 engineers focused on developing state-of-the-art demodulation algorithms. In fact, they have been so successful that in August 2000 Sigtek was purchased for an estimated $20 million by Filtronic plc, based in the UK. In becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of Filtronic, Sigtek is now part of a company which is a world leader in the design and manufacture of a broad range of radio frequency, microwave, cellular and broadband components and subsystems. While Sigtek's roots are still embedded in the government market, its future is aligned with bringing new technologies to the commercial communications market.

Pursuing this strategy of converting technology from government-based contract work to the "civilian" market has propelled Sigtek's growth. It continues to hire new engineers in spite of the lagging economy as it relates to most technology-based communications companies. Sigtek has just recently added three new engineers with additional open positions waiting to be filled. It seems that the signals from the marketplace to Sigtek are being received loud and clear.