WiMAX, or the IEEE 802.16 standard for broadband wireless access, is increasingly gaining in popularity as
a technology with significant market potential. This paper first provides an overview of the existing and
developing 802.16 standards and their key differences/applications. The PHY and MAC layers of a typical
WiMAX base station are then described. The associated implementation challenges faced by WiMAX
infrastructure developers, including performance/cost/flexibility trade-offs in the choice of silicon, are
clearly outlined.
The paper then describes how FPGA-based system implementation can address these
challenges including the accelerated time-to-market requirement which is considered a key enabler for
early success in this market. As an example design, the physical layer implementation of the 802.16d
standard with Altera FPGAs and intellectual property (IP) is proposed.
Access the entire document on the Altera Corp. website.
