SBIR-STTR Award

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project targets significantly increased throughputs and distances for broadband access over landline infrastructure in both urban and suburban/rural environments. For many underserved areas, it will offer the only low-cost broadband access alternative to costly, inefficient satellite coverage. In the physical-layer communication system being developed, conventional Fourier Transform (FT) based Discrete-Multi-Tone (DMT) techniques are replaced with the more spectrally efficient Wavelet-based Adaptive Filter Bank Modulation (AFBM) patented technology. A key aspect of this innovation is in the adaptive nature of its modulation method, optimizing use of available channel capacity. The project will comprise both in-depth theoretical analysis, at the algorithmic level, as well as implementation challenges, where innovation at the architectural level is expected to minimize system cost and power consumption. The theoretical research will target spectrum utilization maximization in the constrained copper-wire channels, which is enabled by the adaptive features of the technology combined with a novel approach to the wavelet-basis selection and its use in the modulation. Based on preliminary analysis and experimentation, it is anticipated that this project will result in the doubling of areal coverage, or doubling of throughput at fixed distances, compared to competing copper-wire solutions. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project will be to enable broadband service to the approximately 20 million households in the US, primarily rural, which cannot receive broadband service over existing infrastructure, other than expensive, inefficient satellite service. With this system solution, a large majority of those households could be provided with AFBM-enabled broadband access. Furthermore, AFBM will enable telco providers to better compete in areas where cable exists. Deployment will be via a business model that is to be a fabless semiconductor supplier to multiple telco equipment manufacturers, who have conveyed their pressing need for the throughput and range performance enhancements offered by this technology. Service providers indicate strong demand for high-data-rate "triple-play" service as an improvement over VDSL2, and also for T1 replacement in the cellular backhaul infrastructure, in addition to the need for rural long-reach solutions. Societal benefits include providing broadband service to previously-unreachable homes. In addition, AFBM, protected by several patents, can serve as a platform technology in wireless, coax, and power-line applications. Collaborative research with local universities will serve to steer academic research in this field towards the actual needs and interests expressed by service providers, thus advancing the related fields in communication theory

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project targets significantly increased throughputs and distances for broadband access over the existing copper landline infrastructure at low cost. In particular, the technology being developed offers advantages in interference-dominated and in suburban/rural environments. In the USA alone there are many millions of households that are currently out-of-reach of broadband access, where there are typically multiple copper landlines available, and the global demand for such solution is significantly higher. For these underserved subscribers, this innovative extended-reach solution represents the only low-cost broadband access alternative to costly, inefficient satellite coverage. While existing Digital-Subscriber-Line (DSL) solutions are not specified to provide broadband access at very long distances, the company?s novel solution greatly increases the achievable distances and allows broadband rates (1Mbps) to be delivered at extended ranges, as demonstrated in Phase 1 of this project. The technology combines innovative signal-processing algorithms with novel digital implementation architectures to allow for high-performance reduced-complexity and low current-consumption implementations. The broader impact and commercial potential of this project are in enabling affordable broadband service to the many households, which are currently out of the reach of broadband access, and in enhancing the performance of other copper-based applications. The technology will enable telco providers to better compete in areas where cable service exists, and can enhance existing solutions for copper-based backhaul, thereby helping service providers with the growing problem of backhaul bottlenecks associated with increased wireless traffic. The growing demand for solutions of this type has the potential to generate annual revenues on the order of $50M, representing a great business opportunity. Societal benefits include providing broadband service to previously-unreachable homes, thus allowing them to engage in remote education, e-commerce, and telecommuting, with all of the advantages that these entail. Ongoing collaborative research with local universities is serving to steer academic research in this field towards the actual needs and interests expressed by service providers, thus advancing the related fields in communication theory and circuitry design and involving students in this research