Overview

HiperLAN2 is the global broadband wireless technology in the 5 GHz frequency band that intends to provide untethered connectivity for mobile devices in corporate, public, and home environments. It uses a new type of radio technology called Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM).

The use of the 5 GHz frequency band was initiated in recognition of the limitations of the 2.4 GHz band. Licensing authorities around the world have allocated large blocks of spectrum in the 5 GHz band. Broad blocks of spectrum & lenient operating rules enable high-speed operation by large numbers of users.

HiperLAN2 promises to provide mobility, and high speed transmission with raw over-the-air data rate of 54 Mbps at the physical layer. It offers sustained throughput for applications at 20 Mbps. For applications such as voice and video, HiperLAN2 also offers QoS (quality of service) which is the ability of being a connection-oriented network where data is transmitted on connections between the mobile terminals and the access points that have been established prior to the transmission.

HiperLAN2 is an ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute) BRAN (Broadband Radio Access Network) effort working towards the following standards: HiperLAN1, HiperLAN2, HiperLink (designed for indoor radio backbones) and HiperAccess (designed for fixed outdoor use to provide access to wired infrastructure).

Xilinx Solutions

The Spartan™-II FPGA architecture has enabled a whole new generation of low-cost high volume solutions. This, combined with a vast portfolio of soft IP (Intellectual Property) cores allows Spartan-II FPGAs to provide solutions at a significantly lower cost than ASSPs and custom ASICs, while offering all of the time-to-market and flexibility benefits associated with programmable devices. The presentation provides specific details on how Xilinx solutions enable wireless LAN-based home networking.