Which signal processing technologies should I use in my wireless application? Well, it depends...

Technology providers, including companies that create commercial off-the-shelf signal processing devices, are constantly trying to drive new features and innovative technologies into the marketplace. The underlying reason for this is fairly simple: these elements help to differentiate the technology provider’s products in the market and thus drive revenue. Conversely, technology consumers, including both military and commercial wireless original equipment manufactures (OEMs), are constantly pulling the market toward the commoditization of technology, with a goal of fostering competition, driving economies of scale, and ultimately lowering overall costs. For the communications systems engineer, this friction between “technology push” and “market pull” means that the technologies most appropriate for use in intermediate frequency (IF) and modem processing are constantly evolving. So the question is: at any given point in time, how does one choose which signal processing technologies to apply in creating a wireless circuit or system?