January 9, 2004
Technology in Focus features analysis of recent technology news articles, by the consultants in Technology Group, IDA. This is the top pick of the month from a list of 10 - 20 news analysis compiled monthly.
FCC Approves First Software-Defined Radio, by Stephen Lawson, IDG News Service,19 Nov 2004
by Ngin Hoon Tong, Consultant, Technology Direction
Implications
FCC certification of the Vanu Software Radio base station paves the way for commercial sales of this technology in the United States. The certification of this technology will benefit rural wireless operators, who can use multi-mode infrastructure to create additional roaming relationships and new sources of revenue. Large carriers can take advantage of the cost savings inherent in Vanu Software Radio and the flexibility of an off-the-shelf-based approach to building out wireless infrastructure.
Advantages
The Vanu Software Radio system consists entirely of software applications that support all of the GSM cellular base station functionality running on off-the-shelf Hewlett-Packard ProLiant servers with an ADC Digivance RF subsystem. Because the software runs on off-the-shelf hardware, Vanu's systems are quickly deployed and easily upgraded, and offer many advantages over traditional base station deployments:
- The system can support multiple radio standards, protocols and frequencies on a single, industry standard server.
- The system allows modification of the RF planning and assignment of standards through remote software parameter changes.
- The system supports upgrades to new standards through a software-only download.
Beachhead
Currently, Vanu is targeting small and rural operators as their first customers. These operators want to support multiple cellular technologies so that they can secure roaming agreements with more than one major operator. The SDR technology provided by Vanu allows them to do so without investing in new hardware each time they add a new technology.
Vanu, Inc. has been working with Mid-Tex Cellular, a rural wireless carrier in Texas, since Jun 2003 to evaluate a GSM network using Vanu Software Radio base stations. This trial deployment successfully demonstrated the commercial viability of a software-based GSM/GPRS wireless network and demonstrated that significant cost savings are achievable. Phased installation of the Vanu Software Radio-based network is currently underway, with the complete rollout of a 20-site system scheduled for completion by year end.
Some words about the writer
Hoon Tong is a consultant with the Technology Group tasked with the responsibility of identifying and driving the adoption of emerging technologies in Singapore. He is currently developing a long-term perspective roadmap on info-communication technologies.
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