Volume 4:

3G BTS Systems and NEC Electronics (1/2)

3G mobile phone service area expansion The mobile phone has become an indispensable item in both our business and personal lives. Mobile communications are making rapid advancement toward the realization of multimedia telecommunications services such as videophone and Internet access as well as still- and moving-picture e-mail. Supporting this advancement are 3G mobile phones that employ a frequency band with high transmission efficiency (2GHz) and aim to achieve 2Mbit/s (2G: 384Kbit/s) high-speed telecommunications. Revolutionary new telecommunications services are expected to make their debut in the near future. However, even the most groundbreaking telecommunications services will not lead to an increase in the number of users if their service areas are limited. This is why service providers are expanding their service areas and working to create an environment in which multimedia telecommunications services can be realized anytime and anywhere. 3G mobile phone services already cover approximately 96% of Japan's population. Moreover, service providers are expanding 3G service areas through the installation of base transceiver stations (BTS) in tunnels, airports, subways, underground malls and other indoor areas where radio signals could not reach up until now.

Mobile phone system structure Service area expansion is achieved by installing wireless BTS, which receive radio signals from mobile phones, in numerous locations. The range within which radio signals from mobile phones can reach a BTS is referred to as a cell. This is why mobile phones are sometimes called cell phones. Even if a mobile phone moves from one cell to another, the call is handed off to the BTS that controls the next cell (handoff function) so that it can be continued without interruption. BTS convert the radio signals received from mobile phones to asynchronous Figure 1 Mobile phone system structure transfer mode (ATM) protocol and then [Enlarged image] send them to a radio network controller (RNC) that controls multiple BTS. These signals pass through a mobile services switching center (MSC), which controls mobile phone connections and various services, and are then sent on to an existing public telephone network. This is how calls are made on a mobile phone (Figure 1). With the advent of 3G mobile networking, further reduction in BTS size and weight is being called for since BTS must be set up in numerous locations to form a network that can be likened to a mesh net. In addition, plans are now under way to make the transition to full IP, whereby it will become possible for communications to be carried out using the same system employed by IP networks, which are representative of the Internet. Moreover, the smooth transition from ATM to IP systems has become an issue that must be addressed. Thus, various efforts are currently being made to further the evolution of

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NEC Electronics and its support of 3G mobile phone systems

1995-2004 NEC Electronics Corporation

Volume 4:

3G BTS Systems and NEC Electronics (2/2)

NEC Electronics and its support of 3G mobile phone systems NEC Electronics has created a line of semiconductor devices for use in wireless base station construction, and is thereby contributing to the realization of 3G mobile phone systems. Our backplane transceiver LSI chips, the PD98441 and PD98442 (Figure 2), are examples of such devices and are optimized for backplane transmission between chips mounted on different circuit boards in BTS systems. The Universal Test and Operation PHY Interface for ATM (UTOPIA) and Packet Figure 2 Backplane transceiver Over SONET PHY (POS-PHY) are employed [Enlarged image] for data transmission by most chips that perform conversion or switching in the control circuit boards used in wireless base stations and communication circuit boards for linking to the overlying RNC (radio network control). As UTOPIA and POS-PHY are parallel interfaces that transmit data on 16 or 32 signal lines, engineers are face with problems such as complex wiring and the necessity of a large surface area for wiring. Our backplane transceiver LSI devices convert from a parallel interface to a serial interface, and transmit serial data at speeds up to 880 Mbps on the Low-Voltage Differential Signaling (LVDS) level. Serial data backplane transmission improves the mounting footprint efficiency, achieves low power consumption and contributes to reduced system cost. By combining the PD98442 that has eight channels of LVDS links and the PD98441 that has two channels of LVDS links, you can construct a star-topology backplane. As both transceivers have a mode for using half of the channels for redundant links, you can construct highly reliable systems. The PD98442 and PD98441 are ideal for both ATM base network and IP base network systems such as Digital Subscribe Line Access Multiplexer (DSLAM) systems that bundle together multiple xDSLs and act as high-speed bridges to large-capacity backbone networks through routers and other telecommunications systems.

Challenges to high-speed interface IP core (macro) development The popularity of 3G mobile phone systems has boosted the demand for constructing highperformance base stations with a short turnaround time and low cost. NEC Electronics is working to meet the needs of the wireless infrastructure industry and is meeting the challenge of high-speed interface macro development. Our PD98441 and PD98442 backplane transceivers are examples of such devices that were developed using the highspeed interface macro. NEC Electronics has also developed a highspeed interface macro that meets the specifications of Reference Point 3 (RP3) of the Open Base Station Architecture

Initiative (OBSAI) intended to standardize the interface between different base station modules. The new high-speed macro has been designed for our CB-130 ASIC technology. System chips incorporating the high-speed interface macro meeting the RP3 specifications can reduce the costs of BTS system development and system introduction.(Figure 3) The RP3 specification defines data rates of 768 Mbps and 1.536 Gbps between the baseband (signal) processing and radio components of a wireless base station. Our Figure 3 Open Base Station Architecture diagram [Enlarged image] new high-speed interface macro is the first in the industry to handle both data rates. The macro also conforms to the 10 Gbps Attachment Unit Interface (XAUI) of Ethernet and InfiniBand standards. Furthermore, the macro handles up to 16 channels. With these features, our new macro supports optimized system construction to satisfy the demands of customers. With the development of the high-speed interface macro and LSI chips that incorporate them, NEC Electronics offers optimized solutions that lead the industry. Our leading-edge semiconductor technologies will support the evolution of 3G mobile phone systems. * OBSAI is a group of nearly 70 leading manufacturers of wireless infrastructure equipment, related modules and components from all over the world. * InfiniBand is a registered trademark of the InfiniBand Trade Association.

Links System Applications Mobile: Third Generation Mobile Phone Backbone Communications Products Communication System Cell/Packet Serial Transceiver PD98441

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1995-2004 NEC Electronics Corporation

Figure 1 Mobile phone system structure

Figure 2 Backplane transceiver

Figure 3 Open Base Station Architecture diagram