PHYRefChain-5G software to simplify 5G small cells

Designed for 5G product developers working on satcom, wireless test, military communications and private network designs, this new software enables fast development and deployment of specialised 5G solutions for customised and applications.

The software is a 3GPP-compliant solution, which reduces the complexity, risk, and cost of 5G product development by helping ensure new products meet global standards and are compatible with specific industry requirements. This release follows the general availability of the 5G protocol stack (SmallCellSTACK-5G), in October 2019.

"The new 5G reference chain software adds to our base portfolio of 5G NR hardware and software that delivers a highly robust and customisable architecture, designed with the future in mind through diligent adherence to the latest 3GPP standards," said Edward Young, CommAgility's Vice President and General Manager. "Our unique combination of software and hardware expertise along with NXP's innovative Layerscape Access LA12XX Programmable Baseband Processors allows us to deliver optimised solutions based on our reference chain software and leverages the collaboration between CommAgility and NXP. These solutions provide a competitive edge for small cells, access points, and private networks."

The resources in the PHYRefChain-5G software will jumpstart product development, and provide a lower cost, shorter time to market option over in-house 'ground up' designs. As part of the CommAgility 5G product portfolio, the PHYRefChain-5G can play a key role in enabling the use of new radio access technology, 5G New Radio (NR), for efficient development of next-generation communication networks.

The PHYRefChain-5G software is the foundation of CommAgility's complete offering for 5G NR software development, including pre-ported and validated PHY and Stack. This portfolio of 5G NR software helps the rapid development of small cells and private networks. A flexible architecture enables easy integration with available hardware accelerators and libraries with versions available for both 5G gNodeB and UE product developers.

The reference chain is compliant with 3GPP Release 15 (specifications 38.22, 38.212, 38.213 and 38.214), thus ensuring end products will work with all 3GPP-compliant networks. Additionally, compliance with Small Cell Forum 5G FAPI enables fast integration with CommAgility or other protocol stacks.

Advanced, high performance algorithms are provided for channel estimation, equalisation, and synchronisation, which provide a competitive advantage in developers' end products. Included static test frameworks with hundreds of test cases and test vectors reduce the investment required in test equipment and creating custom test environments.

Version 15.0.3 of PHYRefChain-5G is available now and will be continually enhanced to meet market needs as 3GPP specifications evolve, regular releases are planned to the software throughout 2020, adding further new features and functionality.