Investigation of Radio Frequency Licensed Spectrum Utilization in Nigeria: A Study of Rumuokwuta, Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Abstract

This study was carried out to investigate the spectrum utilization of the licensed Radio Frequency (RF) spectrum in Rumuokwuta, Port Harcourt. An outdoor measurement of spectrum occupancy was carried out in a high-rise building situated at Rumuokwuta urban area in Port Harcourt, Nigeria using RF explorer spectrum analyzer and a personal computer laptop system. Spectrum activities in the band of 240-960 MHz were monitored for 24 hours. The frequency band was subdivided into 24 sub bands each with a span size of 30 MHz. Scanning of bands was made efficient using a python script that scans a range, analyzed the frequencies and signal strengths for 112 data points, saves data in CSV file format, scans the next range until the 24 ranges were scanned. The process was repeated to achieve 15 iterations. With a noise floor of - 110dBm, a threshold of -95dBm was used to determine the presence of signal, hence the spectrum occupancy of measured bands. Results showed that out of the 24 investigated sub bands; only one band was completely occupied with spectrum occupancy of 100%. 12 bands were partially occupied while 11 were completely free. The average spectrum occupancy for the whole band was obtained as 11.64%. This showed good location for dynamic spectrum access and cognitive radio deployment, especially in Television White Space (TVWS).