Software modem for a software defined radio system

Abstract

The use of older and slower protocols has become increasingly difficult to justify due to the rapid pace at which telecommunications are advancing. To keep up to date with the latest technologies, the communications system must be designed to accommodate the transparent insertion of new communications standards in all the stages of a system. The system should, however, also remain compatible with the older standards so as not to demand an upgrade of the older systems. The concept of a software defined radio was introduced to overcome these problems. In a software defined radio system, the functionality of the communications system is defined in software, which removes the the need for alterations to the hardware during technology upgrade. To maintain interoperatibilty, the system must be based on a standardised architecture. This would further allow for enhanced scalability and provide a plug-andplay feature for the components of the system. In this thesis, generic signal processing software components are developed to illustrate the creation of a basic software modem that can be parameterised to comply fully, or partially, to various standards.