Beyond software radio, towards re-configurability across the whole system and across networks

From its military origins, the software radio concept has evolved slowly, remaining mainly focused on the terminal, and still with considerable military influence. Such a narrow perspective does not fit with our long-held conviction that software-defined radio (SDR) is a far-reaching concept, with much broader application. We propose a much broader, all-encompassing approach. While the SDR approach concentrates on the terminal side, ours covers the whole system, extending through the network into service creation and applications development with the involvement of new players, thus delving into the resulting revamped business model, and paying attention to institutional issues like standardisation and regulation. This paper introduces this novel approach, and establishes a link with ongoing research in the area of reconfigurable radio systems and networks in Europe.