Altera and Wi-LAN have formed a partnership to deliver the first programmable, low-cost WiMAX-compliant base transceiver station modem solution supporting the IEEE802.16-2004 standard.
Altera and Wi-LAN have formed a partnership to deliver the first programmable, low-cost WiMAX-compliant base transceiver station (BTS) modem solution supporting the IEEE802.16-2004 standard. The solution allows basestation developers to deliver WiMAX-compliant products that can be upgraded in the field by service providers in response to changing customer requirements and market conditions. The programmability of Altera’s FPGAs, which form an integral part of the solution, also provides developers with the flexibility to rapidly make changes to their design and still meet their time to market goals.

‘We partnered with Altera because their comprehensive product portfolio is ideal for addressing the varied needs of WiMAX applications, including performance-intensive digital signal processing, cost optimisation and high integration’, said John Seliga, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Wi-LAN’s WiMAX Semiconductor IP Solutions Division.

‘The combination of Altera’s FPGAs and embedded processors and Wi-LAN’s 802.16-2004 MAC and PHY intellectual property provides WiMAX OEMs with significant competitive advantages by minimising development time and resources, maximising first-time success and accelerating time to market’.

Designers can use either Altera’s high-density Stratix II or low-cost Cyclone II FPGAs, as well as Nios II embedded processors, with Wi-LAN’s WiMAX PHY and MAC intellectual property (IP) cores to build the BTS modem solution.

These technologies support the diverse hardware requirements, processing speeds, flexibility and integration required of the WiMAX standard.

‘With the impending commercialisation of WiMAX services, OEMs need solutions that allow them to reduce their design cycle, while service providers require the ability to easily implement and update emerging WiMAX applications’, said Arun Iyengar, Senior Director of Altera’s Wireless Business Unit.

‘Expanding Altera’s wireless ecosystem by partnering with leading IP providers such as Wi-LAN further demonstrates our commitment to enable deployment of new standards and services for the wireless market’.

Customers can purchase high-density Stratix II FPGAs, low-cost Cyclone II FPGAs and Nios II embedded processors through Altera’s worldwide distributors.

The Wi-LAN MAC and PHY IP and design documentation are available for purchase from Wi-LAN.