Comparison of platform and background interference in view of communication performance

Abstract

Today, wireless communication systems are used for many vital applications. As a consequence of the networked society and an increased use of electronical equipment, the interference environment and the man-made noise can be foreseen to increase in signal level. This is in particularly evident at vehicles and other small platforms, where a lots of equipment is gathered on a small area. The interference environment may result in disruptions and lost calls for communication systems and none or incorrect position for GPS receivers. In this work, the interference environment, both background environment and platform interference, is viewed in terms of an increasing equivalent noise figure of the radio receiver. For four different interference scenarios, conclusions can be drawn whether the background environment classified according to the ITU levels is dominant or not at two different frequency bands. A general conclusion is that the receiver can be significantly degraded by the environment and that a low noise figure of a radio receiver is not suitable in such environment. Furthermore, the direct consequences of the interference environment is presented as a reduced communication distance.