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Massive MIMO Prototyping and Commercialization
Clayton Shepard
2© Skylark Wireless 2012-2018
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Argos Base Station Architecture
Central Controller
Argos Hub Argos Hub Argos Hub
Module Module Module
Module
Module
…
…
…
Data Backhaul
ModuleRadio Radio Radio…
© Skylark Wireless 2012-2018
SDR Platform Designed for Massive MIMO
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Faros Modular Massive MIMO SDR
Faros-ENC-03-SFP: 1.5U form factor• 8x Iris SDRs per 1.5U (16 radios)• 6x 1.5U racks per HUB (96 radios)• Synchronized clocks & timing
Faros-EXT-01-SFP
• IRIS-FE-CBRS: Integrated Antennas• IRIS-FE-UHF: SMA ports to antennas• IRIS-FE-DEV: SMA ports to antennas
Iris-030
Faros-ENC-05-HUB• FPGA: XCZU9EG-2FFVC900I• Multiple Hubs can be linked• 2x 240 VAC / 48 VDC Power
Supply
2x MTP/MPO fiber connector2x 48 VDC connector
Faros-ENC-03-SFP
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Faros System Overview
13.2 Gbps Tx/Rx48 VDC
ClockingFrame Sync
DirectConnect
(10x per chain)
Direct Connect to Antenna Array
Dual FMC
2x 6.6GbpsFiber
Faros-ENC-03Faros-ENC-05-HUB
Up to 4x10 GbE Fiber
6x Faros-ENC-03
48 VDC
AC/DC Supply
AC/DC Supply
Faros-ENC-05-HUB
7© Skylark Wireless 2012-2018
Iris Radio Modules
• Lime LMS7002
• 2x 50 MHz to 3.8 GHz• Up to 122.88 MHz Bandwidth
• Modular RF Frontend
• Xilinx Zynq
• Power over Ethernet (PoE)
• Large-Array Support
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Iris RF Frontends
• UHF– 470 to 700 MHz
– 30 dBm
• BRS/CBRS– 2.49 to 2.7 and 3.55 to 3.7 GHz
– 28 dBm
• Development
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Faros-RRH: Configurations
Faros-ENC-03-CBRS (3550-3700 MHz)• 1x Iris-EXT-01-SFP RRH Extension• 8x Iris-030• 8x Iris-FE-03-CBRS• 8x Faros-ANT-CBRS 2x2 Dual Polarized• Fans, seals, brackets, SFP transceivers• Antennas internal to unit
Faros-ENC-05-HUBFaros-ENC-xx-xxx
Faros-ENC-04-UHF (470-700 MHz)• 1x Iris-EXT-01-SFP RRH Extension• 8x Iris-030• 8x Iris-FE-02-UHF• Fans, seals, brackets, SFP transceivers• SMA bulkhead connectors
Faros-ENC-03-BRS (2555-2605 MHz)• 1x Iris-EXT-01-SFP RRH Extension• 4x Iris-030• 4x Iris-FE-03-CBRS• 4x Faros-ANT-BRS 2x2 Dual Polarized• 3x Iris-EXT-02-SPC• Fans, seals, brackets, SFP transceivers• Antennas internal to unit
11© Skylark Wireless 2012-2018
Faros-RRH: 16x16 TVWSFaros-ENC-xx-RRH-xxx
Faros-ENC-04-SFP-UHF (470-700 MHz)• 1x Iris-EXT-01-SFP RRH Extension• 8x Iris-030• 8x Iris-FE-02-UHF• Fans, seals, brackets, SFP transceivers• SMA bulkhead connectors
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Faros Hub: Massive MIMO DSP Accelerator
Faros-ENC-05-HUB
© Skylark Wireless 2012-2018
Argos Base Station Architecture
Central Controller
Argos Hub Argos Hub Argos Hub
Module Module Module
Module
Module
…
…
…
Data Backhaul
ModuleRadio Radio Radio…
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Faros Distributed Computation
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Salt Lake City 5G+ Wireless Testbed
Salt-Lake City
4 Base Stations
512 Coherent Radios
Battery-Powered Mobiles
Open, Programmable
High-Speed Backhaul
Edge & Cloud Compute
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• NSF Platforms for Advanced Wireless Research (PAWR)• $100M over 5 years
• $20M to Utah and Rice
https://powderwireless.net/Rice University
POWDER-RENEW
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5G Wireless for Rural ConnectivityBroadband for the next billion
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The Digital Divide
Over half the world does not have internet access. [1]
Rural broadband is prohibitively expensive:
• OpEx 3x higher
• CapEx 2x higher
• Revenue 10x lower [1]
[1] Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development, “The State of Broadband,” Sept 2017, ITU, UNESCO
39% of Americans in Rural Areas lack broadband access [2]
[2] FCC US State of Broadband Report 2016
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Solution: Massive MIMO + TV Whitespace
• Beamforming in UHF enables incredible range
• Spatial multiplexing enables incredible capacity• > 100 bps/Hz
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West Virginia
Airband Initiative
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Mingo County• Approximately 25,000 residents
• ARC distressed economic region
• Hilly terrain, population lives in valleys
• Poor broadband availability and affordability
• Excellent UHF propagation
• Over 60 MHz of contiguous UHF spectrum
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Example Coverageof Skylark’s Faros 5G Base Station
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Horsepen Tower, WVA
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Programming Faros/Iris
• SoapySDR
• Argos Measurements
• OpenAirInterface
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OpenAirInterface on Iris
• FDD & TDD• Test on bands 7, 12, 38, 42
• 5 MHz and 10 MHz• 20 MHz requires bus
• NGFI IF4p5 in development
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Platform for Massive MIMO Prototyping and Commercialization
Flexible and Scalable
Large Coherent Arrays
Long-Range Outdoor