WiMAX
Frequently Asked Questions: The Fujitsu WiMAX SoC
The Fujitsu WiMAX SoC
Q1. Please briefly describe the Fujitsu WiMAX SoC product advantage.
Q2. Can the Fujitsu WiMAX SoC support both base stations and subscriber stations?
Q3. What are the Fujitsu WiMAX SoC major applications?
Q4. What is the maximum channel bandwidth that the Fujitsu WiMAX SoC can support?
Q5. What is the current status of development?
Q6. What are Fujitsu's plans about WiMAX interoperability testing?
Q7. What kinds of software will Fujitsu provide?
Q8. How can Fujitsu's SoC support different frequencies and channel bandwidths?
Q1. Please briefly describe the Fujitsu WiMAX SoC product advantage.
This highly integrated mixed-signal LSI is fully compliant with the IEEE 802.16-2004 standard. It has an integrated MAC and
OFDM256 PHY optimized for low-cost SS. It can be used for BS, making interoperability between SS and BS easier. Fujitsu provides
a comprehensive software package for SS, facilitating development and speeding time to market. A reference design board
will be provided to help with the design and evaluation of WiMAX products. The accompanying software (i.e. lower MAC, upper
MAC) is carefully partitioned to facilitate software development.
Currently, there are two WiMAX standards - a fully rectified IEEE 802.16-2004 fixed WiMAX standard and a yet-to-be rectified
IEEE 802.16e standard.
Q2. Can the Fujitsu WiMAX SoC support both base stations and subscriber stations?
The Fujitsu WiMAX SoC, MB87M3400, sets the stage for both base-station and subscriber-station implementation, which will bring
cost-efficient, high-quality fixed broadband connectivity to metro-area-network users, without the need for direct line-of-sight
access to base stations from their remotely connected subscriber stations. The MB87M3400 is designed to enable deployment
of BWA equipment for both base stations and subscriber stations in licensed or license-exempt bands of 2GHz to 11GHz.
Q3. What are the Fujitsu WiMAX SoC major applications?
The major applications contain WiFi and cellular data network backhauling, filling the Internet access/information gap in
rural and underserved areas beyond the reach of wireline DSL and cable.
Q4. What is the maximum channel bandwidth that the Fujitsu WiMAX SoC can support?
The MB87M3400 uses an OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) PHY that supports channels from 1.75MHz up to 20MHz,
and can operate in TDD or FDD modes, with support for all available channel bandwidths. A programmable frequency selection
generates the sample clock for any desired bandwidth, and a 256-point Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) is used for broadband transmission.
When applying 64QAM modulation in a 20MHz channel and using all 192 sub-carriers, the SoC’s data rate can go up to 75Mbps.
Uplink sub-channelization is also supported.
Q5. What is the current status of development?
Samples and reference design kits are now available and already shipped to our early adopters and customers.
Q6. What are Fujitsu's plans about WiMAX interoperability testing?
Fujitsu's early adopters/customers will bring their systems based on our WiMAX-compliant SoC to Cetecom in Spain for interoperability
and compliance testing in July 2005.
Q7. What kinds of software will Fujitsu provide?
Fujitsu will provide MAC and driver software for WiMAX system development.
Q8. How can Fujitsu's SoC support different frequencies and channel bandwidths?
Fujitsu's WiMAX SoC is capable of handling RF frequencies less than 11GHz. The primary ones are 2.5GHz, 3.5GHz, 3.6GHz and
5.8GHz. Different channel bandwidths ranging from 1.75MHz to 20MHz can be supported.
