Multimode: How to design a programmable baseband device for multiple wireless standards

By Dake Liu and Anders Nilsson, Coresonic AB
Wireless Net DesignLine -- (05/20/08, 12:20:00 AM EDT)

A programmable solution integrated into the main application processor will create a new breed of value-added devices far beyond the current view of communication devices.

The two big buzzwords of 2008—mobility and convergence—are impacting the ecosystem that serves the wireless industry in many ways.

From consumers who demand to be connected wherever they are and using the fastest connection speeds possible, to the developers of products for the multiple emerging 4G standards that will feed this demand, the level of choice available to all parts of the entire chain makes it difficult to evaluate the perfect choice for product design and which wireless standard to implement.

Different transceiver standards and protocols are diverging, though all drive towards 4G with space-time diversity, space division multiplexing, beamforming, CDMA, and OFDMA. HSPA, LTE, WiMAX, and IMT-advanced will therefore be co-existing, as will 802.11g/b/n.

At the same time, different countries have set up barriers by using different digital broadcasting standards—DVB-T/H, ISDB-T, DMB-T, T-DMB and DAB are fighting for their place as the ultimate protocol. As a result, it is inevitable that there will be multiple implementations depending on the scenario for which the product is being developed (see Figure 1).
 

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