Barely six months after the 802.16e mobile WiMAX standard was approved in
December 2005, Texas Instruments (TI) and Tata Elxsi have jointly created a base
band demonstration system targeting the mobile WiMAX market. The latest
announcement is expected to trigger a domino effect within the emerging WiMAX
market that is gearing up for mobile wireless.
Analysts are expected to certify products for mobile wireless MAN that would
begin to appear in early 2007. So the race is on for the manufacturers to meet
the certification requirements by the deadline. This is where the demo solutions
developed by Tata Elxsi and TI steps in to assure speedy time to market (TTM)
for the OEMs.
It is the first 802.16e demo solution provided by TI and Tata Elxsi
based on robust and well-established TI's TMS320TCI6482 DSP and analog
technology. “This is one of the first WiMax 802.16e based demos expected in
the market,” says Sandeep Kumar, worldwide strategic marketing manager,
Communications Infrastructure Group, TI. This new design combines both the
hardware and software required for system implementation, including a fully
integrated Media Access Controller (MAC), allowing customers to incorporate the
complete WiMax solution into their own products.
“At TI, we understand manufacturers' needs for deploying products quickly
to meet the demands of emerging markets, like mobile WiMAX. This demo helps OEMs
in several ways. A completely integrated physical layer and MAC solution
provides a quick stepping stone to OEMs for developing a WiMAX base station,”
Sandeep adds. “This offering will allow existing OEMs an easy path to migrate
to mobility solutions for WiMax, while providing new manufacturers a quick entry
into the IEEE 802.16 market,” he adds.
Jumpstarting WiMax
WiMAX is considered by many to be a natural evolution to the 802.11 standards.
802.16 will extend service area range to several miles, compared to 802.11's
service range of 100+ meters. Nitin Pai, joint GM – Marketing, Tata Elxsi
feels that this is the reason why WiMax is a better choice for India especially
to address the last mile access. “There is no solution as of now available to
the OEMs and mobile vendors to deliver WiMax. But we expect the service
providers to choose WiMax over other technologies and when they do so, OEMs need
to be ready with base stations for WiMax. This proof of concept developed by TI
and Tata Elxsi will help in addressing this first step,” he says.
For the wireless users, such a solution is expected to enhance the
ubiquitous, feature rich, cost-effective broadband experience. Unfettered inside
the home or on the road, the consumer can finally experience the broadband
promise that has been a long time coming.
What Lies Inside
The software components, available as a part of this demonstration system, will
allow OEMs to select and optimize specific pieces of the design in their own
implementation, reducing product development time and allowing them to customize
the software and add their own intellectual property. This level of flexibility
is important to manufacturers who want to differentiate their product offering
from their competitors. The system incorporates a Tata Elxsi 802.16e MAC
Software IP. It also brings with it product design, integration, and
customization experience.
Add to this mix, TI's complete WiMAX signal chain product offering
including analog and RF parts and OEMs have a cost-effective, one-stop shop
for all their WiMAX silicon solution needs. The design would enable physical
layer processing required for 10 MHz, TDD, multi-antenna base band solution with
multiple input/multiple output (MIMO) transmission across a breadth of air
interfaces.
The system would incorporate Mercury Computer's MTI-203 Advanced Mezzanine
Card (AMC) for WiMAX, anchored with three TI TMS320TCI6482 DSPs and supporting
compute nodes for creating a WiMAX infrastructure base band solution. Advanced
TCA systems, such as Mercury's leading edge Ensemble2 system, would allow 'mix
and match' across different processing nodes and architectures to enable a
complete functional system.
WiMAXing the Future
“One of the clear areas of impact for WiMAX is seen in providing broadband
access in “greenfield” deployments and in limited situations where DSL and
cable are not economically viable,” says Sandeep. The mobile version of WiMAX
extends the use of this air-interface into portability and mobility
applications. Challenges still remain for Mobile WiMAX, but the industry seems
to be working toward addressing these issues. “WiMAX offers some advantages
over 3G networks in terms of data service, but has clear limitations with regard
to voice service and high speed mobility,” says Sandeep.
In the foreseeable future, it is anticipated that coverage and roaming will
continue to present challenges for the nascent WiMAX market.
Malovika Rao
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