True SDR capability plays a central role in the future of mobile communications systems. It enables system implementers to dynamically reconfigure and upgrade wireless systems purely on a software basis. This has endless benefits, including cost of ownership, ability to respond quickly to changing market dynamics, such as the introduction of EDGE Evolution, lower development costs, and a significant time-to-market advantage.

"Vocallo BTS, with its breakthrough multi-core clock-less DSP architecture, finally enables system implementers to create a range of next-generation, multi-standard wireless solutions based on a true SDR implementation," said Emmanuel Gresset, vice president of Software Defined Radio at Octasic. "Creating a software-enabled environment for wireless technologies -- both current and evolving -- on a DSP platform will provide our customers with a significant advantage as they build products for their wireless customers."

The Vocallo BTS Digital Signal Processor (DSP) integrates a complete Layer 1 baseband for up to 12 GSM carriers or 6 EDGE carriers or any combination. All this is achieved in a 15mm x 15mm BGA consuming less than 1W (or 80 mW per carrier). Vocallo BTS' impressive power density figure is a direct result of Opus, Octasic's asynchronous DSP core technology. Elimination of the clock tree also brings benefits in chip size, allowing Vocallo BTS to be priced very competitively on a per carrier basis.

The product is fully supported by Opus Studio, the company's intuitive graphical Integrated Development Environment (IDE), which provides the product with a full suite of Layer 1 GSM, GPRS and EDGE modules. These modules are available as a 3 GPP compliant, source code reference library. Demonstrating both the efficiency of the toolset and the control capability of the DSP, reduced Layer 2 and Layer 3 code also runs on Vocallo BTS.

"Until recently, wireless DSP implementations have been hybrid, making the solutions inflexible," Gresset said. "System trade-offs between hardware and software were necessary to balance chip size, power consumption and computational efficiency, because a software only solution would be too expensive and too power hungry in comparison to a hybrid solution. Vocallo BTS is the first solution that provides implementers with the best of all worlds -- flexibility, power and efficiency."

The Vocallo BTS enhances Octasic's Vocallo product line -- which currently addresses voice and video applications. Future Opus-based SDR products will target 3G and 4G multi-standard femto, pico and macro wireless basestations.