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daleste
Looks like good competition for the incumbents. The winner will be us with ...
Firm tips mutlicore IC for base stations
Mark LaPedus
2/8/2011 7:07 PM EST
SAN JOSE, Calif. - In a move to enable next-generation base stations and other products, Israel's DesignArt Networks Inc. has rolled out a new system-on-a-chip (SoC) platform.
Built around a 40-nm process from foundry partner TSMC, the DAN3400 from DesignArt is based on a multicore, multi-layer SoC architecture. The SoC solution is geared for the simultaneous operation of high-capacity W-CDMA and LTE micro- and picocell base stations, said Joachim Hallwachs, vice president of marketing and business development at DesignArt.
The market is ripe for next-generation base station chips. Several carriers are rolling out their 4G networks amid an explosion for data in the network. DesignArt, Freescale, Mindspeed, TI and others are competing in this arena.
DesignArt claims to be ahead of its rivals. ''For us, it could not be a better time'' to roll out a new base station solution, Hallwachs told EE Times.
Founded in 2006, the privately-held company is based in Ra’anana, Israel. Investors include Motorola Ventures, Carmel Ventures and Magma Venture Partners.
DesignArt's first devices supported WiMax, but the company has quickly moved to LTE--and for good reason. The next-generation wireless technology known as long-term evolution (LTE) by 2014 will have more than nine times as many subscribers as its main rival in the 4G market, Wireless interoperability for microwave access (WiMax), according to new IHS iSuppli research.
Worldwide LTE subscribers will rise rapidly during the next two years, and in 2012 will surpass those of WiMax, the current leading 4G air standard. In 2014, LTE subscribers will reach 303.1 million, compared to 33.4 million for WiMAX, according to the research firm.
“With WiMAX enjoying a two- to three-year head start in next-generation network deployments, it presently enjoys a major advantage in market share in the 4G segment,” said Francis Sideco, principal analyst for wireless research at IHS, in a new report. “However, with LTE supported by most of the leading wireless operators worldwide, it will rise to surpass WiMAX in 2012 and then dominate worldwide during the following years.”
LTE subscribers worldwide are expected to top 14.9 million in 2011, up from 6.8 million last year, according to the firm. .
Seeing the handwriting on the wall, DesignArt last week rolled out the DAN3800, a multi-sector LTE advanced baseband SoC. Both the DAN3400 and DAN3800 employ multiple customized processor cores, based on technology from Tensilica Inc. Both devices are said to replace several FPGA, DSP and network processor components, and in some cases, even multiple baseband cards, with a single-chip SoC design.
Single-SoC compact base station equipment based on the DAN3400 provides multi-protocol access to multiple spectrum assets of operators with in-field software upgrade to a multi-carrier 40-MHz 4G picocell–delivering aggregated 600 Mbps of 4G mobile broadband data capacity.
The DAN3400 has been designed for simultaneous multi-protocol operation in a distributed multi-gigabit radio access network (RAN). Consuming less than 6 Watts of power, the DAN3400 makes use of a multi-layer architecture, including a digital front-end (DFE), baseband, MAC and an open OS layer.
The embedded DFE, with high-efficiency PA linearization, drives a multi-carrier, multi-protocol 4x4 antenna array with a combined channel width of up to 40 MHz – fully ready for LTE Advanced features such as spectrum aggregation, MU-MIMO, and high-performance LTE relay.
The baseband consists of six DSPs and 12 RISC processors, based on Tensilica's IP. “At the heart of the DAN3400 is the most scalable multi-protocol baseband pipeline, consisting of optimized multi-core DSP and RISC processing layers, and augmented with software-programmable hardware acceleration for the simultaneous operation of high-capacity W-CDMA and LTE micro- and picocells, in-field software-upgradable to 4G LTE Advanced,” said Assaf Touboul, DesignArt Networks CTO.
The chip is in the prototype stage, with shipments due in the next three to six months.
Built around a 40-nm process from foundry partner TSMC, the DAN3400 from DesignArt is based on a multicore, multi-layer SoC architecture. The SoC solution is geared for the simultaneous operation of high-capacity W-CDMA and LTE micro- and picocell base stations, said Joachim Hallwachs, vice president of marketing and business development at DesignArt.
The market is ripe for next-generation base station chips. Several carriers are rolling out their 4G networks amid an explosion for data in the network. DesignArt, Freescale, Mindspeed, TI and others are competing in this arena.
DesignArt claims to be ahead of its rivals. ''For us, it could not be a better time'' to roll out a new base station solution, Hallwachs told EE Times.
Founded in 2006, the privately-held company is based in Ra’anana, Israel. Investors include Motorola Ventures, Carmel Ventures and Magma Venture Partners.
DesignArt's first devices supported WiMax, but the company has quickly moved to LTE--and for good reason. The next-generation wireless technology known as long-term evolution (LTE) by 2014 will have more than nine times as many subscribers as its main rival in the 4G market, Wireless interoperability for microwave access (WiMax), according to new IHS iSuppli research.
Worldwide LTE subscribers will rise rapidly during the next two years, and in 2012 will surpass those of WiMax, the current leading 4G air standard. In 2014, LTE subscribers will reach 303.1 million, compared to 33.4 million for WiMAX, according to the research firm.
“With WiMAX enjoying a two- to three-year head start in next-generation network deployments, it presently enjoys a major advantage in market share in the 4G segment,” said Francis Sideco, principal analyst for wireless research at IHS, in a new report. “However, with LTE supported by most of the leading wireless operators worldwide, it will rise to surpass WiMAX in 2012 and then dominate worldwide during the following years.”
LTE subscribers worldwide are expected to top 14.9 million in 2011, up from 6.8 million last year, according to the firm. .
Seeing the handwriting on the wall, DesignArt last week rolled out the DAN3800, a multi-sector LTE advanced baseband SoC. Both the DAN3400 and DAN3800 employ multiple customized processor cores, based on technology from Tensilica Inc. Both devices are said to replace several FPGA, DSP and network processor components, and in some cases, even multiple baseband cards, with a single-chip SoC design.
Single-SoC compact base station equipment based on the DAN3400 provides multi-protocol access to multiple spectrum assets of operators with in-field software upgrade to a multi-carrier 40-MHz 4G picocell–delivering aggregated 600 Mbps of 4G mobile broadband data capacity.
The DAN3400 has been designed for simultaneous multi-protocol operation in a distributed multi-gigabit radio access network (RAN). Consuming less than 6 Watts of power, the DAN3400 makes use of a multi-layer architecture, including a digital front-end (DFE), baseband, MAC and an open OS layer.
The embedded DFE, with high-efficiency PA linearization, drives a multi-carrier, multi-protocol 4x4 antenna array with a combined channel width of up to 40 MHz – fully ready for LTE Advanced features such as spectrum aggregation, MU-MIMO, and high-performance LTE relay.
The baseband consists of six DSPs and 12 RISC processors, based on Tensilica's IP. “At the heart of the DAN3400 is the most scalable multi-protocol baseband pipeline, consisting of optimized multi-core DSP and RISC processing layers, and augmented with software-programmable hardware acceleration for the simultaneous operation of high-capacity W-CDMA and LTE micro- and picocells, in-field software-upgradable to 4G LTE Advanced,” said Assaf Touboul, DesignArt Networks CTO.
The chip is in the prototype stage, with shipments due in the next three to six months.
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daleste
2/9/2011 10:58 AM EST
Looks like good competition for the incumbents. The winner will be us with higher bandwidth for our mobile devices.
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