While 3G hasn't quite arrived, designers are already thinking about 4G technology. With it comes challenging RF and baseband design headaches.

Cellular service providers are slowly beginning to deploy third-generation (3G) cellular services. As access technology increases, voice, video, multimedia, and broadband dataservices are becoming integrated into the same network. The hope once envisioned for 3G as a true broadband service has all but dwindled away. It is apparent that 3G systems, while maintaining the possible 2-Mbps data rate in the standard, will realistically achieve 384-kbps rates. To achieve the goals of true broadband cellular service, the systems have to make the leap to a fourth-generation (4G) network.

This is not merely a numbers game. 4G is intended to provide high speed, high capacity, low cost per bit, IP based services.

The goal is to have data rates up to 20 Mbps, even when used in such scenarios as a vehicle travelling 200 kilometers per hour. New design techniques, however, are needed to make this happen, in terms of achieving 4G performance at a desired target of one-tenth the cost of 3G.

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