In this Electronic Design piece, Ian Lankshear explains why the evolution of 5G cellular infrastructure is driving a shift away from FPGA-centric platforms towards custom ASIC development.
Lankshear outlines the cost, power, and performance trade-offs inherent in FPGA solutions — particularly as base station complexity scales with massive MIMO, mmWave, and high throughput requirements — and shows how ASICs can offer lower power, improved performance, and better economics at high volume. The article also discusses NRE considerations and how thoughtful ASIC architecture and IP reuse can help make migration from FPGA prototypes commercially viable.
Read the article on Electronic Design: https://www.electronicdesign.com/technologies/embedded/article/21808675/ensilica-5g-cellular-infrastructure-and-the-migration-from-fpgas-to-custom-asics