Qulsar announces precision time protocol (PTP) software availability for Qualcomm FSM platform.
The QNgine-S precision time protocol (PTP) software by Qulsar is now available on the Qualcomm FSM9xxx platform, which is used in small-cell designs worldwide.
With QNgine-S, products based on the FSM9xxx platform have access to a precision timing solution that will enable indoor and urban canyon deployments of small cells, where GNSS signals are rather weak.
As operators continue to upgrade and modernize their networks, there is an increasing demand for a packet-based timing solution (such as 1588 PTP) to support LTE-TDD and LTE-A deployments.
The QNgine–S made available by Qulsar to use with the FSM9xxx platform is designed to enable operators to deploy small cells cost effectively and without a hardware upgrade to existing networks (such as on an existing timing unaware network), especially in locations where GNSS signals are unavailable or impeded.
Qulsar’s 1588 PTP slave technology already powers many eNodeBs and mobile backhaul infrastructure.
QNgine-S is a software-only solution that integrates with the baseband software of the FSM9xxx platform to provide an IEEE 1588-2008 PTP solution capable of recovering both time and frequency from a remote PTP grandmaster.
According to Minoo Mehta, Qulsar’s VP of Sales and Strategic Partnerships, “QNgine-S is optimized to operate in networks that haven’t implemented full on path PTP support. Qulsar’s advanced time recovery servo uses adaptive algorithms to allow time recovery to better than the required 1.1 μs for TDD applications, coupled with frequency alignment better than 15 ppb to meet the air interface requirements — a level of performance that typically cannot be achieved with unsophisticated servos and/or open source PTP solutions.”
“QNgine-S provides an increasingly important solution for synchronization of small cells and remote radio heads,” said Puneet Sethi, senior director, product management, Qualcomm Atheros, Inc. “We applaud Qulsar’s approach to delivering precise timing performance to customers using the FSM9xxx platform without new specialized hardware requirements, as this will help accelerate the global adoption of these platforms.”
Qulsar also provides design engineering services to tailor QNgine-S to variant architectures and platforms as needed and offers lab testing services to validate PTP performance.