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Worldwide Interoperability Microwave Broadband Access System for Next Generation Wireless Communications

Project description


The Network of the Future
Worldwide Interoperability Microwave System for Next-Generation Wireless Communications

Main Objectives

The main objective of WiMAGIC is to make contributions to the IEEE 802.16m group, which has been set up to develop the technical specifications of next-generation mobile WiMAX systems offering higher capacity, higher mobility and higher performance than the current systems.
WiMAGIC intends to play a leading role in the IEEE 802.16m specifications which will be the basis of mobile WiMAX complying with IMT Advanced requirements.
IEEE standardization groups are often dominated by American companies and organizations, and this gives them an initial competitive advantage. WiMAGIC intends to be a major player in IEEE 802.16m making proposals, having them included in the future standard, and providing a foundation for market leadership of European industry in this important and fast-growing field.
The project will develop advanced physical layer (PHY) and medium access control (MAC) layer algorithms, as well as a simulation platform and a hardware prototype for testing and validation of these algorithms.
The project is led by SEQUANS Communications, industry leader in fixed and mobile WiMAX system-on-chip solutions, and the list of partners includes RINICOM, Alcatel-Lucent, Thales Communications, TURKCELL, Ultra Electronics, Bilkent University, Politecnico di Torino, SUPELEC, Institute of Accelerating Systems & Applications, University of Leeds, Kadir Has University, and Université Catholique de Louvain. 
WiMAGIC is driven by its industrial partners and is based on a strong market demand. The consortium is an excellent balance between academic excellence and leading edge industrial R&D expertise and strong experience and know-how in WiMAX systems. The high-level research excellence combined with a real market demand for the proposed research is a true guarantee of success.
While WiMAGIC will strongly help its coordinator, SEQUANS Communications, to keep its leadership in mobile WiMAX system-on-chip solutions, it will enhance the product range and competitiveness of its industrial partners Alcatel-Lucent, Thales Communications, RINICOM, Turkcell, and Ultra Electronics. As for the academic partners, they will find an excellent framework for working together on advanced concepts for the wireless network of the future and cooperation with industry.  

Technical Approach

WiMAGIC will address the technical challenges of the future IEEE 802 16m specifications, which aim at defining an air interface that can support high mobility (at least 120 km/s), a data rate of over 100 Mbit/s and offer higher performance than the current IEEE 802.16e standard, while ensuring compatibility with it. To achieve this objective, PHY, MAC and cross-layer algorithms will be developed, tested using a simulation platform and a proof-of-concept prototype.
The project is composed of 7 work packages:
WP1: Project management
WP2: Dissemination, market business analysis, exploitation and dissemination.
WP3: System requirements and system level design
WP4: PHY layer
WP5: MAC and higher layers, cross-layer optimization
WP6: Simulation platform
WP7: Prototyping and trials

The objective of this industry-driven multi-disciplinary research proposal is to develop novel and highly innovative technical solutions which will be backward compatible with the existing global broadband wireless access (BWA) standards (IEEE 802.16 and WiMAX) and linked to the specific end-user requirements which will be incorporated into the emerging IEEE 802.16m standard, which aims at defining an air interface that can ensure high mobility (at least 120 km/h), transmit a data rate of over 100 Mbit/s and offer higher performance compared to the current 802.16e standard. Among the main topics to be addressed for the advanced air interface are new MIMO schemes offering higher diversity and multiplexing gains as well as interference cancellation capabilities, advanced synchronization and channel estimation techniques that are compatible with the increased mobility requirement, advanced radio resource allocation schemes involving cross-layer optimisation, as well as cooperation between users and base stations. Research results developed within the framework of this STREP will be used to draft contributions to the IEEE 802.16m working group and influence this future standard. The developed concepts and algorithms will be simulated, prototyped and then integrated into SoCs to be developed by SEQUANS Communications and tested by other industrial partners of the consortium. The implementation plan for the project is based on a hypothetical system called WiMAGIC that embodies a beyond the state of the art (SoA) target BWA system. WiMAGIC serves as a conceptual platform for 1) specifying target system requirements, 2) developing sub-system level beyond the SoA technological solutions, 3) integrating the sub-system solutions for end-to-end simulation, testing and validation of the WiMAGIC design. This chain of activities, from system specification to system design to technology development to system validation, constitutes the object of the WiMAGIC project.

Fields of science

Programme(s)

Topic(s)

Call for proposal

FP7-ICT-2007-1
See other projects for this call

Funding Scheme

CP - Collaborative project (generic)

Coordinator Contact

HIKMET SARI Dr.

Coordinator

SEQUANS COMMUNICATIONS SA
Address
15-55 boulevard charles de gaulle les portes de la defense
92700 Colombes
France

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Region
Ile-de-France Ile-de-France Hauts-de-Seine
Activity type
Private for-profit entities (excluding Higher or Secondary Education Establishments)
Administrative Contact
DEBORAH CHOATE (Ms.)
Links
EU contribution
No data

Participants (12)

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Last update: 13 April 2017

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Permalink: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/215167

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