Software Defined Radio: Baseband Technologies for 3G Handsets and Basestations

13

The Impact of Technological Change

Dr Walter Tuttlebee

Mobile VCE, UK

Since the advent of mass market wireless telephony in the 1980s, the commercial wireless industry has seen sustained rapid development. Even with the economic slowdown of the early ‘00's, market potential and growth in major emerging economies such as China and India, continues to drive investment and growth. The fast growth and proliferation of cellular markets as a global phenomenon, to the point where subscribers worldwide exceed 1 billion, has emerged as a potent driver of radio technology development.

The early years of the 21st century have already seen significant changes in the wireless industry, resulting from such technological progress, including the commercialisation of new, lower cost, short range wireless technology, embodied in Bluetooth-enabled mobile handsets and in Bluetooth- and IEEE 802.11 WLAN-enabled PCs. The changes now emerging in baseband processing look set to have an impact as profound as, and in the longer term perhaps more than, such earlier developments.

In this epilogue, we endeavour to draw together some of the messages emerging from the earlier chapters and to discuss briefly the potential impact of the technological changes that are underway upon the wireless industry.

13.1. New Technology

13.1.1. Perspectives

The contributors to this book are experienced industry practitioners in digital baseband processing semiconductor technology. They have approached their chapters each ...