Reconfigurable mobile terminal requirements for third generation applications

While Europe is developing UMTS, America is advancing cdma2000. If there is no convergence, there will be two distinct standards. In such a situation it would be useful to have a single terminal with capability of reconfiguration to different standards and services. Here, we identify subsystems in which standards differ or converge, in order to find where there is potential for reconfigurability, particularly in hardware, when common components can adopt multiple roles. The study comprises GSM, IS-54, IS-95, PDC and DECT, with the proposed schemes UMTS, W-CDMA and cdma2000 included. First we list the main blocks and the techniques employed in each standard. At this level, many differences among the standards are seen. Next, these main blocks are partitioned, revealing sub-blocks with similar functionality. Finally these are reduced to mathematical operations, showing that different algorithms are frequently based on similar mathematical procedures so it is reasonable that they be implemented using the same physical (hardware) or logical (software) device.