Freescale Semiconductor unveiled a development platform designed to speed and simplify the creation of networking equipment for 3G LTE (Long Term Evolution) and other emerging broadband wireless technologies. The platform is engineered to provide the multi-gigahertz performance, low-power operation, and interconnect technologies crucial to support the high-data-rate air interface and IP-packet-handling requirements of LTE base stations. It leverages the company's portfolio of microprocessor and DSP technologies to deliver closely coupled Layer 1 and Layer 2 LTE radio processing. The solution combines programmable-data-plane software with AMCs (advanced mezzanine cards) featuring the MPC8548 PowerQUICC III processor and the quad-core MSC8144 StarCore DSP. C-based data-plane software seamlessly integrates the processors, enabling the advanced features and scheduling algorithms essential to delivering low-latency, high-throughput LTE systems. Based on a low-cost MicroTCA chassis and deploying programmable processors onto modular AMC cards, the platform speeds time-to-market and allows individual software and hardware components to be upgraded as new standards evolve over time. Base stations built on the platform can be cleanly partitioned into separate network, radio Layer 2 and radio Layer 1 processors, which can each scale according to emerging system-performance requirements. The radio-processor cards are interconnected via low-latency Serial RapidIO and Gigabit Ethernet schemes that are readily integrated into the platform's PowerQUICC and StarCore DSP processors.