Spectral DSP has developed a patent-pending waveform technology for efficient PAPR (peak-to-average power ratio) and power consumption reduction. This solution can be rolled out via simple reprogramming of cellular modem software. Signal testing is complete on the national NSF PAWR COSMOS testbed site.
The newly invented signal was created using DFT Spread OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing) with Harris Tapered Nyquist Filter. This signal demonstrates an extraordinary PAPR improvement allowing a significant reduction of the power consumption of the Power Amplifier. The PAPR reduction improves cell coverage and increases the radiated transmit power. Increased power permits the use of a larger cell radius for the same transmission energy level as traditional OFDM, this translates to fewer cell sites to cover the desired area.
5G Deployment
Spectral DSP's President, Pete Wassell said that 5G has stalled in recent years due to the high costs of implementation. Spectral DSP has mathematically invented a patent-pending, cost-efficient waveform that they are inserting into base station software and handsets. They can send a modified cellular signal at the same bitrate as standard OFDM using half of the amplified energy. This is a substantial achievement since cell tower base stations will soon account for ~3% of all electrical power consumption worldwide. Telcos currently spend 6% of their operating expenses on energy costs. According to Goldman Sachs, telcos will need to reduce their cost base by 30% per annum to maintain margins and cater for 5G traffic at the same time. There are currently 5 million cell towers worldwide, with many more (one million just in North America) needed to roll out 5G. These new base stations cost $250,000 on average to build.
