Emerging technologies for software radio

Multimode, multiband transceivers were once seen as a desirable but unachievable goal, particularly when considering small, battery-powered terminals. There are, however, significant market-pulls requiring just such a device and dual-mode systems (albeit with largely separate hardware) are now a reality. The next revolution will be the production of so-called flexible architecture terminals, in which the same hardware is used for all modulation formats and bands, with the internal software determining the mode to be utilised. Considerable research is being directed toward this goal worldwide, and practical results are beginning to appear which indicate that the unachievable may soon become a reality