Program Information > Workshops > Advancing SDR

Advancing SDR in Mainstream Markets – Opportunities and Challenges

Tuesday, October 28
Led by Manuel Uhm, chair of the SDR Forum Markets Committee

SDR has begun to move beyond the innovators and early adopters as defined by Geoffrey Moore in “Crossing the Chasm” into the early majority phase defining the mainstream market. In this phase, adopters select a technology not because it is innovative or visionary but because it has been shown to successfully solve a problem within their specific market. Examples of SDR adoption illustrating the transition to the mainstream are abundant:  

• Thousands of software defined radios have been successfully deployed in defense applications
• Cellular infrastructure systems are increasingly using programmable processing devices to create “common platform” or “multi-mode”  base stations supporting multiple cellular infrastructure standards  
• Cellular handsets are increasingly utilizing System on Chip (SoC) devices that incorporate programmable “DSP Cores” to support the baseband signal/modem processing
• Satellite “modems” in the commercial and defense markets make pervasive use of programmable processing devices for intermediate frequency and baseband signal processing

While these types of systems are often not marketed as “SDRs”, they utilize SDR technologies to solve market specific problems; cost of development, cost of production, cost of upgrades and maintenance, time to market in supporting new and evolving air interface standards, or problems associated with network interoperability. This workshop will explore the use of SDR and SDR technologies in commercial and defense markets, future trends, and key challenges that need to be addressed in further advancing SDR technologies into the mainstream.   

The tentative agenda includes (click the paper title to view the abstract and author bio):

• Opening Keynote: Ari Virtanen, Executive Vice President, Wireless Solutions, Elektrobit Corporation (EB)
• Session 3.1
  • Introduction, Manuel Uhm of Xilinx and Chair of the SDR Forum Markets Committee
  • What is SDR, Lee Pucker, CEO of the SDR Forum
  • SDR in Commercial Wireless Infrastructure, Aditya Kaul, ABI Research
  • SDR in Defense Applications, Garrick Ngai, Frost and Sullivan
  • Public Safety Software Defined Radio (SDR) Roadmap, Mark Jones, Noblis
• Lunch and Exhibits
• Session 3.2
  • SDR in Mobile Handsets: The Road Ahead, Kaustubha Parkhi, ARCchart
  • The Roadmap for Technologies Supporting Commercial SDR, Will Strauss, Forward Concepts (30 minutes)
  • Panel Session and Q&A, Overcoming Barriers to Mainstream Adoption (30 Minutes)
• Invited Paper: Clean Slate Radio, Ronan Farrell, Director of the Institute of Microelectronics and Wireless Systems National University of Ireland, Maynooth
• Closing Panel Session: Standards Collaboration: What is Required to Advance SDR Technologies in Mainstream Markets?

Each analyst session will include:

• Very brief overview of company and research reports
• Market Size and 3 year projections
• Current state of applicable technology, regulations and business models
• Technical, regulatory and business issues hampering adoption