TI partners with board, software specialists for 3G infrastructure

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The 3G Partnership Program's Long-Term Evolution (LTE) project seems a long way off, but Texas Instruments Inc. is convinced that it's time to start LTE infrastructure planning now.

Dallas-based TI has announced partnerships with board-level systems companies Mercury Computer Systems and Silicon Turnkey Express to produce full development environments for LTE.

John Smrstik, TI's communications infrastructure marketing manager, emphasized there is no new dedicated silicon for LTE. Instead, the company has optimized software for its existing single-core Himalaya DSP, the 1-GHz TMS320TCI6482, and the triple-core, 3-GHz TMS320TCI6487, for designs utilizing LTE's OFDM base.

"The standard is close enough to final definition to justify putting together the partnerships now," Smrstik said.

TI is anticipating in broader use of the Advanced Telecommunitions Computing Architecture, as well as the Advanced Mezzanine Cards used in MicroTCA. The strategy is to emphasize ATCA/AMC implementations with its partners.

LTE is the first digital cellular standard to use a full, packet-based approach. The data air interfaces of Edge (Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution) and High Speed Packet Access for wideband-CDMA both use packet encapsulation over circuit switching. LTE uses native packet switching.

The wireless packet access technology often referred to as 4G is based on the WiMax or IEEE 802.16e standard. TI used its WiMax Wave 2 software library, and special extensions for general OFDM packet data, to offer a software suite along with the board-level development tools from Mercury and STEx. DSPs and cards are available today, and Smrstik said a full LTE software library will be offered by the end of the second quarter.