TABLE OF CONTENTS The term software radio has become associated with a large number of different technologies and no standard definition exists. The term is usually used to refer to a radio transceiver in which the key parameters are defined in software and in which fundamental aspects of the radio's operation can be reconfigured by the upgrading of that software.
A number of associated terms have also been used in the context of programmable or reconfigurable mobile systems [1]:
Software defined radio (SDR): This is the term adopted by the SDR Forum an international body looking at the standards aspects of software radio [2].
Multi-standard terminal (MST): This type of terminal is not necessarily a software defined radio in the context of this book, although it may be implemented in that way. It simply refers to a terminal which is capable of operation on a number of differing air interface standards. This type of terminal will provide either wider international roaming than would a single-standard device, or a necessary smooth upgrade path from a legacy system to a new standard, for example, the transition from Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) to wideband code-division multiple access (WCDMA).
Reconfigurable radio: This term is used to encompass both software and firmware reconfiguration [e.g., through the use of programmable logic devices, such as field programmable gate array (FPGAs)]. Both forms of reconfiguration are likely to be necessary in any cost and power-efficient software radio...
