Inside Vanu’s Software Radio

Inside Vanu’s Software Radio

Posted by samc on July 19th, 2007

Michael Moser of Inbabble interviewed CEO of Vanu, the software defined radio pioneer, about their Anywave Base Station and their relationship with Frontline Wireless.

Vanu developed the first FCC certified software radio. Their Anywave Base Station provides simultaneous operation of multiple wireless standards. It uses Linux software to eliminate the need for specialized signal processing hardware. Vanu, founded in 1998, is based in Cambridge, MA.

Michael Moser’s interview is published here with his permission:

Q. What does this product replace?

The Vanu Anywave Base Station is Software Radio infrastructure solution that replaces traditional cellular infrastructure equipment. The key differentiator behind the Anywave Base Station is that it supports multiple wireless standards (e.g. GSM, CDMA, iDEN) simultaneously on a single system—no competitive wireless infrastructure product can do this. This is significant because it enables wireless operators to make optimum use of their spectrum by simultaneously running GSM and CDMA within one radio access network (RAN). In addition to faster deployments, this creates dramatic reductions in capital and operating costs.

The Vanu Anywave Radio Access Network (RAN) is an all-IP RAN that uses open standards architecture. This eliminates the use of proprietary hardware, creates multiple vendor sources for the carrier and enables the latest computer processing advances to be utilized as the network grows over time. In addition, the Vanu Anywave Base Station specifically presents the following unique benefits to carriers:

• Faster time-to-market.
• Reduced cell site visits by being able to deploy new wireless standards or add system capacity via remote software downloads from a single location.
• Upward and downward system scalability so carriers can quickly increase or decrease system capacity.
• Reduced backhaul costs due to IP-based backhaul links across multiple wireless standards.
• Remote system management.

Q. What is its competition?

The competition is legacy wireless RAN equipment. In the traditional approach used by the major equipment vendors today, a new and unique set of RAN hardware must be purchased and installed at each cell site for every wireless standard that is deployed. This is costly, time-consuming and requires a significant field support team. The legacy approach also utilizes specialized, proprietary hardware (DSPs, FPGAs) for each wireless standard which locks the operator into a single source of supply for key infrastructure components.

Conversely, the Vanu Anywave system develops each wireless standard entirely in software, not customized hardware. The Anywave software easily ports onto general purpose, off-the-shelf servers at each base station site, thereby reducing the amount of hardware and space required. Also, the use of open standard hardware enables the Anywave solution to track Moore’s Law and the benefits of always introducing the most current computer processing advancements and best price-performance at the time of system install or capacity expansion. The Anywave Base Station brings IP all the way to the antenna and can accommodate a broad range of backhaul transport methods including Ethernet, T1, satellite, microwave and fiber. The Anywave solution also reduces administration and maintenance costs through managing only a single system. From a flexibility standpoint, the Vanu solution is easily adapted to outdoor urban and rural environments, along with the ability to be configured as a mobile cell site (cell-on-wheels) for disaster recovery or temporary venue applications.

Q. Where would it be installed?

The Vanu Anywave system is currently focused around carriers that want to operate multiple standards. In the past it has not been cost effective to run multiple standards because it required building two unique networks. With Vanu’s Anywave, a single network can support multiple wireless standards from one common platform. Vanu’s Anywave solution is in commercial operation with wireless carriers throughout the U.S. and Canada and is currently in trials in India.

Q. Does it support WiMAX and Wi-Fi?

The Anywave Basestation is based on portable software so that it is able to underpin any new standard that Vanu chooses to develop—GSM, CDMA and iDEN are already commercially available. Our initial technical work on WiMAX has already indicated that a Software Radio solution for that standard is feasible for Vanu to develop.

Q. Is it available yet for residential femto cell use? What would it cost?

Residential femto cell applications are possible through the use of Vanu’s Anywave technology. This is a market that we continue to explore—we have not yet committed to development of a commercial product.

Q. Why are you a partner with Frontline? What do you hope to get out of it?

Vanu is an investor in Frontline and a firm supporter of a nationwide public safety network that supports interoperability. In the past, this has not been technically feasible, since each network could only be built to support a single technology. Advances like Vanu’s Software Radio technology have made it possible to run a single network that supports multiple standards, which enables the creation of a single nationwide network that supports multiple radios that are otherwise incompatible today.

source : dailywireless.org