CommAgility has announced the AMC-3C87F-GPS, a single width, full-size Advanced Mezzanine Card for 4G wireless PHY layer processing, which includes three RRH (remote radio head) interfaces, an integrated GPS receiver and an OCXO option for timing holdover. The new module is optimised to reduce system cost and complexity for next-generation wireless base stations.
Three industry-standard CPRI/OBSAI optical SFP interfaces support direct connections to RRHs for full three sector operation without chaining connections. This high level of integration in a single module reduces system and RRH complexity.
To provide high performance for WiMAX and LTE applications, the module includes three Texas Instruments TCI6487 multicore DSPs running at 1 or 1.2GHz, as well as a Xilinx Virtex-5 FPGA. The high performance DSPs mean that the card can also include the MAC layer on a single AMC module.
The integrated GPS receiver provides base station timing synchronisation. This means there is no need for an external GPS receiver. Resilience is ensured by an OCXO option for timing holdover, which maintains synchronisation if the GPS signal is lost for short periods. Timing can also be sourced or driven through the AMC clocks or an optional front panel SMB connector.
Multiple 10Gbit/s Serial RapidIO and Gigabit Ethernet backplane connections are included to provide fast and reliable I/O interconnects for larger systems.
The module has been tested and proven with WiMAX PHY software from Tata Elxsi and remote radio heads from AxisNT, proving a complete base station PHY layer solution. This reduces system development costs and helps cut time to market for OEMs.
