WiMAX Reference Model

Objective

Our client, picoChip Designs limited, wanted to develop a WiMAX (802.16e) compliant PHY reference design to run on their advanced picoArray DSP processor.  They asked Cambridge Consultants to assist them in the design and development of their reference PHY.

Neither Cambridge Consultants nor picoChip had participated in the standardisation of WiMAX, and so we were starting behind competitors who had been working in the technology for many years.  The key objective was to perform a rapid but high quality development.

Approach

We used our SDR Framework to generate a complete model of the 802.16e PHY for the base station, the mobile station and a channel model that allowed many to many scenarios to be run (many mobile stations talking to and interfering with many base stations).  From this model we were able to explore the performance of different algorithms needed to implement the WiMAX specification and select appropriate tradeoffs for an efficient implementation.

From this we were able to design and implement a complete WiMAX PHY implementation for the picoArray, for both the Mobile Station and the Base Station.

Result

picoChip were able to demonstrate the first WiMAX base-station PHY reference.

Benefit

The ability to have a solution available early allowed picoChip to win a large number of design wins in the rapidly developing WiMAX market.