ECO: proposte di digitalizzazione della radio e dell'FM

Il comitato FM45 dello European Communications Office si è riunito nei giorni scorsi a Stoccarda per continuare la discussione sulla radiofonia digitale e l'evoluzione verso il digitale della attuale banda VHF/II, gli 88-108 dell'FM. Tra i documenti sul tavolo vi anticipo le due bozze riguardanti le proposte da sottoporre su entrambi gli argomenti al governo dell'Unione europea. Le due bozze nascono dal lavoro di un apposito sottogruppo del comitato FM45 in seguito alla riunione di fine novembre a Londra. Il documento intitolato Initial Draft ECC Report on Possibilities for Future Terrestrial Delivery of 
Audio Broadcasting Services può essere prelevato qui. La bozza relativa invece alle modifiche del documento ECC 141 sul futuro digitale dell'FM e intitolata Intial first draft for a supplement to the ECC Report 141 future possibilities for the digitalisation of band II - Technical elements and parameters for dital terrestrial broadcasting in Band II è disponibile qui.

Terrò d'occhio il repository di documenti in questi giorni per verificare la presenza di aggiornamenti e novità successive all'incontro.

Nuove regole di spettro per il radiomobile in UE

Lo European Communications Office è in riunione fino a oggi, 25 giugno, nella città svizzera di Baden, per concordare una serie di report e raccomandazioni finalizzate alla ottimizzazione della politica di gestione dello spettro delle radiofrequenze destinati ad alcuni servizi radiomobili. Uno dei punti in discussione è l'uso di politiche più snelle per l'assegnamento delle frequenze a nuove tecnologie radiomobili nelle bande fino ai 3,8 GHz. Si parla per esempio di specifiche WAPECS 'Wireless Access Platforms for Electronic Communications Services’ una proposta normativa che oggi viene già applicata in Europa alle frequenze intorno ai 2,6 GHz. Oggi le infrastrutture più importanti sono quelle del 3G ma l'idea è di rendere più duttile il processo di introduzione di tecnologie alternative con un nuovo approccio normativo.

A Baden si sta discutendo anche di stazioni base "green", attraverso l'implementazione di tecnologie Multi Carrier Base Transceiver Stations (MCBTS). E infine si parla anche di radar anti-collisione per autovetture, una tecnologia nuova e finora poco diffusa ma la cui crescita potrebbe creare conflitti di interferenza con i ponti radio. L'idea in questo caso è di abbandonare lo spettro dei 23 GHz finora sfruttato ed esplorare le possibilità dei radar anti-collisione operativi in una nuova banda dei 79 GHz.

Initiatives in mobile radio

The ECC approved a set of key reports relating to mobile services at its meeting in Baden Switzerland, 21-25th June. In different ways each widens the technology and system opportunities available for operators to provide services to the public.

Two of the areas of work come as ”CEPT Reports”, prepared in response to mandates from the European Commission. This means that the technical conclusions reached are likely to be used within binding measures made for EU member states.

The first is to increase the technical options available for mobile services in bands around 2 GHz. Services in these frequencies presently use the ’3G’ technology, which was introduced in the 1990s and 3G networks are still being extended. But newer technologies are now available, and this Report is a milestone in enabling them to be used. This involves the use of harmonised but generic technical specifications known as ’WAPECS’[1], rather than more detailed ones designed around a specific technology. Nevertheless, the specifications take some account of the types of systems which will use them, in order to achieve the best balance of efficiency through technical flexibility, and efficiency through technical optimisation.

WAPECS specifications are already available in the 2.6 GHz mobile bands, although as they are new they have not yet been widely applied.

On a similar theme, a set of three Reports was agreed as drafts to be sent to the Commission, and sent for Public Consultation before final approval in November. These deal with extending the range of technologies which can be used in the frequencies used by today’s GSM (or ’2G’) system, which is still the backbone of today’s mobile services used by the general public. It is essential that the existing services, and other services in adjacent bands, continue to work effectively and without additional interference as operators transfer mobile phone users to newer, more data-friendly technologies.

Saving money and greening mobile radio. Thirdly, the ECC approved an ECC Report on Multi Carrier Base Transceiver Stations (MCBTS). These are GSM base stations which pass multiple carrier signals, instead of just one, through common components such as amplifiers, filters, etc.. This saves costs, which enables better coverage to be provided and reduces energy consumption, but MCBTS systems are in principle less easy to engineer compatibly with other services on adjacent frequencies. The new ECC Report 146 examines how the lower spectrum performance of MCBTS impacts on other services. The planning and implementation guidance of the report shows that the extra impact of MCBTS is for most cases negligible compared with conventional systems.

Avoiding road collisions

On-car anti-collision radar (SRR) is in its infancy, but may bring significant safety benefits. There are very few cars equipped so far, but as its use becomes more widespread the temporary frequencies which the early systems use would eventually cause unacceptable levels of interference to other services, notably scientific services and fixed links. Therefore the relevant ECC Decision cuts off the use of the present 24 GHz frequency from 2013. A new band at 79 GHz is open for SRR and the technology to use it is under development.

A pair of CEPT reports prepared for the Commission and now finally approved review the state of technology development at 79 GHz and the implications of extending the tenure of SRR at 24 GHz, as well as the technical possibilities for an alternative band at 26 GHz. The report sets out the limited opportunities and significant constraints for both 24 GHz and 26 GHz, and confirms the state of technology development at 79 GHz. The ECC is advising the Commission to continue to focus efforts for SRR on the 79 GHz frequency.

[1] ’Wireless Access Platforms for Electronic Communications Services’

ERO: i ricevitori cambiano il modo di gestire lo spettro

Lo European Radiocommunications Office ha appena pubblicato un report che cerca di fare il punto su come le nuove tecnologie di progettazione dei ricevitori possono impattare la politica di gestione dello spettro. Per molti anni, l'uso delle risorse frequenziali è stato condizionato dai limiti degli apparati riceventi, in particolare la loro capacità di "selezionare" la frequenza giusta, evitare le interferenze dalle frequenze vicine, resistere alla saturazione determinata dalla presenza di campi elettromagnetici di forte intensità anche in finestre spettrali molto ampie. Ma questi limiti sono drammaticamente cambiati nell'era della nuova circuiteria analogica e soprattutto nell'era della software defined radio e della radio cognitiva. I gestori dello spettro, sostiene l'ERO, devono tener conto di questi cambiamenti per consentire un uso diverso delle radiofrequenze. Un uso molto più libero e, se vogliamo, aperto e "democratico".
Un po' la scoperta dell'acqua calda, lo so. Ma è normale che i regolatori arrivino in ritardo sulle tecnologie. L'importante è che prima o poi ci arrivino. Andate a scaricare il testo del report, il numero 127, e i documenti correlati su questa pagina del sito ERO.

ECC Report 127
"The impact of receiver standards on spectrum management"

Executive Summary

This study was initiated by a decision of the ECC’s Krakow meeting in March 2007 to consider the impact of receiver performance on spectrum management.
The document begins by setting out technical and regulatory background to the issues, with some references to their underlying economic relevance.
Some groups within the CEPT and ETSI have been consulted to identify examples of where poor receiver performance, or spectrum planning on the assumption of poor receiver standards, has given rise to frequency management problems.
Typically these are lost opportunities to develop new services to their full potential, or at all, or else the constraints to existing services caused by interference. The hypothesis underlying the study is that by applying more demanding requirements for receivers, backed by an appropriate regulatory framework, an overall economic benefit might be obtained.
This study is only the first step of a process to test the hypothesis.
The study has revealed several cases where it would have been possible to make a significant difference to an outcome in spectrum management if the treatment of receiver performance, and particularly the application of receiver parameters, had been different. Historically the extent of technical benefit or disadvantage has not been quantified, and so the evidence available to this study is very limited in how it can be used. In particular, there is a lack of available impact analysis to determine whether and to what extent an alternative approach or alternative receiver parameters would have given a net economic benefit.
Improvements in technology allow for opportunities to improve spectrum management. This will be helped at a later stage if standards can play a role in licensing and/or consumer expectation when a service is first launched, in order to manage legacy protection issues at a later stage.