
A baseband processor (also known as baseband radio processor, BP, or BBP) is a
device (a
chip or part of a chip) in a
network interface controller that manages all the
radio
Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...
functions (all functions that require an antenna); however, this term is generally not used in reference to
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols, based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio wave ...
and
Bluetooth
Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology standard that is used for exchanging data between fixed and mobile devices over short distances and building personal area networks (PANs). In the most widely used mode, transmission power is limi ...
radios. A baseband processor typically uses its own
RAM and
firmware
In computing, firmware is a specific class of computer software that provides the low-level control for a device's specific hardware. Firmware, such as the BIOS of a personal computer, may contain basic functions of a device, and may provide h ...
. Baseband processors are typically
fabricated using
CMOS
Complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS, pronounced "sea-moss", ) is a type of metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) fabrication process that uses complementary and symmetrical pairs of p-type and n-type MOSFE ...
(complementary
metal–oxide–semiconductor) or
RF CMOS
RF CMOS is a metal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS) integrated circuit (IC) technology that integrates radio-frequency (RF), analog and digital electronics on a mixed-signal CMOS (complementary MOS) RF circuit chip. It is widely used in modern wire ...
technology, and are widely used in
radio-frequency
Radio frequency (RF) is the oscillation rate of an alternating electric current or voltage or of a magnetic, electric or electromagnetic field or mechanical system in the frequency range from around to around . This is roughly between the upp ...
(RF) and
wireless
Wireless communication (or just wireless, when the context allows) is the transfer of information between two or more points without the use of an electrical conductor, optical fiber or other continuous guided medium for the transfer. The most ...
communications.
Overview
Baseband processors typically run a
real-time operating system (RTOS) as their firmware, such as
ENEA's
OSE,
Nucleus RTOS (iPhone 3G/3GS/iPad),
ThreadX (iPhone 4), and
VRTX. There are more than a few significant manufacturers of baseband processors, including
Broadcom,
Icera,
Intel Mobile Communications
Intel Mobile Communications (IMC), is the mobile research and development division of Intel. It was formed when Intel completed the acquisition of the Wireless Solutions (WLS) division of Infineon early in 2011 for US$1.4 billion. The Infineon sub ...
(former Infineon wireless division),
MediaTek,
Qualcomm
Qualcomm () is an American multinational corporation headquartered in San Diego, California, and incorporated in Delaware. It creates semiconductors, software, and services related to wireless technology. It owns patents critical to the 5G, 4 ...
,
Spreadtrum, and
ST-Ericsson.
The rationale of separating the baseband processor from the main processor (known as the AP or ''application processor'') is threefold:
; Radio performance
: Radio control functions (signal modulation, encoding, radio frequency shifting, etc.) are highly timing-dependent, and require a real-time operating system.
; Radio reliability
: Separating the BP into a different component ensures proper radio operation while allowing application and OS changes.
; Legal
: Some authorities (e.g. the U.S.
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...
(FCC)) require that the entire software stack running on a device which communicates with the
mobile telephony
Mobile telephony is the provision of telephone services to phones which may move around freely rather than stay fixed in one location. Telephony is supposed to specifically point to a voice-only service or connection, though sometimes the li ...
network must be certified. Separating the BP into a different component allows reusing a stack without having to recertify the full AP.
Security concerns
Since the software which runs on baseband processors is usually proprietary, it is impossible to perform an independent code audit. By
reverse engineering
Reverse engineering (also known as backwards engineering or back engineering) is a process or method through which one attempts to understand through deductive reasoning how a previously made device, process, system, or piece of software accompli ...
some of the baseband chips, researchers have found security vulnerabilities that could be used to access and modify data on the phone remotely. In March 2014, makers of the free
Android
Android may refer to:
Science and technology
* Android (robot), a humanoid robot or synthetic organism designed to imitate a human
* Android (operating system), Google's mobile operating system
** Bugdroid, a Google mascot sometimes referred to ...
derivative
Replicant
A replicant is a fictional bioengineered humanoid featured in the 1982 film ''Blade Runner'' and the 2017 sequel '' Blade Runner 2049'' which is physically indistinguishable from an adult human and often possesses superhuman strength and intel ...
announced they have found a
backdoor
A back door is a door in the rear of a building. Back door may also refer to:
Arts and media
* Back Door (jazz trio), a British group
* Porta dos Fundos (literally “Back Door” in Portuguese) Brazilian comedy YouTube channel.
* Works so title ...
in the baseband software of
Samsung
The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...
Galaxy phones that allows remote access to the user data stored on the phone.
See also
*
OsmocomBB
Osmocom (open source mobile communications) is an open-source software project that implements multiple mobile communication standards, including GSM, DECT, TETRA and others.
History and usage
In 2008 Harald Welte and Dieter Spaar experiment ...
a
free software
Free software or libre software is computer software distributed under terms that allow users to run the software for any purpose as well as to study, change, and distribute it and any adapted versions. Free software is a matter of liberty, no ...
for baseband processors
References
Further reading
Baseband Processor entryat openezx.org, archived from the original on May 5, 2013
* Babin, Steve
''Developing software for Symbian OS: A beginner's guide to creating Symbian OS v9 smartphone applications in C++'' Symbian Press, 2007, p. 80.
{{CPU technologies
Antennas (radio)
Embedded microprocessors
Radio electronics