PHY-referencedesign til 2G/2.75G

Udviklingshuset Cambridge Consultants står bag ny PHY referencedesign, der sigter mod low-cost 2G/2.75G basestationer og femtocells (in english).

Cambridge Consultants has developed Centaur, a comprehensive GSM/GPRS/EDGE/E-EDGE physical layer (PHY) reference design, enabling the next generation of low-cost cellular base-stations and femtocells to incorporate mass-market 2G and 2.75G capabilities. The reference design includes a complete framework model and code implemented on the picoArray from picoChip, a leading baseband platform for femtocells and software defined base-stations.

Today, the GSM standard supports over 3 billion mobile users worldwide and accounts for more than 80% of the global mobile telecommunications user base, yet many new low-cost base-stations like femtocells do not offer GSM services. While the benefits of advanced generation network standards like 3G and WiMax are well known, base-stations that do not enable 2G GSM network access are creating a barrier to adoption by the vast majority of the existing user base of GSM. Similarly, the adoption of GSM by the next billion users is seen as needing even lower cost infrastructure than is available today after nearly twenty years of product evolution.

- While much of today’s attention is focused on broadband-capable cellular technologies, it is well recognised that GSM will still be in operation for many years, if not decades to come, delivering the services required by billions of subscribers, explains Tim Fowler, Commercial Director at Cambridge Consultants' Wireless Division.

- Delivering the complete range of GSM radio capability that runs on the low-cost, high volume processors from picoChip means that extending these networks, both in terms of their coverage and their operational life, can be significantly more economic for the operators and subsequently the users. We have recognised for some time the many benefits of picoChip’s unique architecture, which is why we have targeted our GSM PHY reference design at this platform.

The ubiquity of GSM has made an immense difference to the life of 3 billion people. As the International Telecommunications Union recognises with their ‘reaching the next billion’ initiative, one of the challenges is the cost of infrastructure. We believe that Centaur can make a significant impact.

Outlining picoChip’s interest in Cambridge Consultants’ solution, Rupert Baines, VP of Marketing at picoChip says:
- The majority of femtocell development to date has focused on 3G and 4G technologies, but this reference design from Cambridge Consultants dramatically extends that, enabling low-cost base-stations and femtocells for the high-volume GSM market, and providing exactly the flexibility and low-cost point our clients need in order to exploit the hardware platforms they’ve invested in.