A software-defined communications baseband design

TLDR

Software‑defined radios enable programmable, dynamically reconfigurable hardware that can implement multiple physical‑layer protocols and be updated over the air by service providers. The article presents a software‑based baseband solution for an SDR, detailing a 2 Mb/s WCDMA design with GSM/GPRS and 802.11b support, emphasizing latency reduction and novel implementation techniques. The design relies on underlying technology that enables real‑time software execution of the physical layer. The solution, implemented in C, runs in real time on a multithreaded processor.

Abstract

Software-defined radios offer a programmable and dynamically reconfigurable method of reusing hardware to implement the physical layer processing of multiple communications systems. An SDR can dynamically change protocols and update communications systems over the air as a service provider allows. In this article we discuss a baseband solution for an SDR system and describe a 2 Mb/s WCDMA design with GSM/GPRS and 802.11b capability that executes all physical layer processing completely in software. We describe the WCDMA communications protocols with a focus on latency reduction and unique implementation techniques. We also describe the underlying technology that enables software execution. Our solution is programmed in C and executed on a multithreaded processor in real time.