Texas Instruments introduces multicore Keystone chips for C-RANs

CHIPMAKER Texas Instruments (TI) has expanded its Keystone architecture in order to support cloud radio access networks (C-RANs).

TI's Keystone multicore chip architecture is being deployed in C-RAN base stations that the firm claims will allow base station clusters to aggregate resources. C-RANs, though mostly unknown at the moment, are seen as a way of boosting wireless capacity at wireless cell sites, effectively increasing the capacity of a cell.

TI's multicore chip supports 10Gbps per Ethernet port and, given that many of these chips are likely to be used together, there is a 100Gbits/s chip-to-chip Hyperlink interface. TI claims this eliminates the need for any "power hungry" x86 chips.

Ken Rehbehn, principal analyst for mobile infrastructure at Yankee Group said, "Expanding TI's flexible Keystone architecture to meet C-RAN network topology requirements means that radio system innovators gain a unified architecture that scales from small cells to massive C-RAN processing pools. These enhancements offer vital design flexibility and time-to-market advantage without adding significant development cost."

Although TI is best known for its range of calculators and system-on-chips that appear in smartphones, the firm also makes high-end digital signal processors and specialist chips that end up in equipment such as wireless network base stations. The firm's Keystone chips should help TI feature in a multitude of base station installation designs, with their key selling point being the ability to reuse software. µ