DesignArt Networks delivers simultaneous multi-protocol SoC

Mobile World Congress 2011, BARCELONA, SPAIN: DesignArt Networks unveiled its ground-breaking 40nm 4G SoC family with the launch of five distinct SoC chips. The company released its second open SoC platform – the DAN3400.

Drawing upon the vast baseband processing resources inherent to the DAN3000 SoC family architecture, the DAN3400 has been designed for simultaneous multi-protocol operation in a distributed multi-gigabit radio access network (RAN). The DAN3400 is the only available single-SoC solution for the design of fully integrated high-performance, multi-protocol base station and relay equipment – ideal for the small cell layer of the heterogeneous mobile network.

“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.

“Consuming less than 6 Watts, the DAN3400 SoC platform delivers a truly carrier-grade small cell solution, suitable for the design of ultra-compact, low-cost single-SoC Micro- or Pico BTS equipment with flexible RF output power.”

The DAN3400 combines all base station processing layers with a powerful SW-programmable digital RF front-end (DFE) – enabling the most integrated single-SoC base station designs. 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.

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.

“If operators are to be expected to deploy heterogeneous mobile radio access networks, including a dense layers of small cell equipment, then such equipment must meet basic carrier-grade infrastructure requirements, such as dual technology support,” said Will Strauss, president of Forward Concepts.

“DesignArt offers in a fully software-defined SoC a single-chip compact base station solution that delivers simultaneous multi-protocol services with in-field software upgrade to 4G LTE Advanced, meeting that requirement.”