World Radiocommunication Conference Research Articles

Estimation of Electromagnetic Compatibility Between DVB-T/DVB-T2 and 4G/5G in the 700 MHz Band for Co-Channel Case

Abstract The 694–790 MHz band (700 MHz) known also as the second digital dividend was allocated to the mobile radiocommunication service on a primary basis in Region 1 and identified to International Mobile Telecommunications by the World Radiocommunication Conference 2012 (WRC-12). The designation of mobile service in Europe and other countries of Region 1 in 700 MHz band was obtained after the World Radiocommunication Conference 2015 (WRC-15). Administrations of Region 1 will be able to plan and use these frequencies for mobile networks, including IMT. The goal of this study is to estimate the electromagnetic compatibility of Digital Video Broadcasting – Terrestrial (DVB-T/DVB-T2) and LTE (Long Term Evolution) technology operating both in 700 MHz band. The study assumes frequency division duplex (FDD) channel arrangement of 703–733 MHz (for uplink) and of 758–788 MHz (for downlink). The model contains two parts: a DVB-T/DVB-T2 system and LTE mobile broadband network. Co-channel scenario is considered in this paper, and possible impact of DVB-T/DVB-T2 on LTE base stations (receivers) is also investigated. The Monte Carlo simulations within SEAMCAT software and the Minimum Coupling Loss (MCL) method are used for interference investigation. The coordination trigger field strength value predetermined by GE06 Agreement is also used in this study. The Monte Carlo method presents more relaxed electromagnetic compatibility scenario in comparison with the MCL method. For SEAMCAT simulations, ITU-R P.1546-5 radio propagation model is used. The obtained results present the required minimum separation distance between DVB-T/DVB-T2 and LTE networks in the 694–790 MHz in order to provide the necessary performance of LTE mobile network.

Win, Lose and Draw: Outcomes from the 2019 World Radio Conference

This paper identifies the winners and losers at the 2019 meeting of the World Radio Conference, the global forum for developing harmonized spectrum allocations convened by the International Telecommunication Union (“ITU”). World Radio Conferences, convened in four-year cycles, seek global consensus on spectrum allocations and reallocation. At WRC-19, the 193 participating nations agreed to add 17.25 Gigahertz (“GHz”) in bandwidth for fifth generation (“5G”) wireless services, with a total 19.14 GHz bandwidth now available for domestic assignment by individual national regulatory authorities. Despite incremental progress at the ITU, senior-level United States government officials deem the ITU unable to make timely spectrum planning decisions. Federal Communications Commissioners, from both political parties, have largely rejected ITU consensus building, despite the fact that the U.S. assumed lead responsibility for creating the ITU’s rules and heretofore has complied with them. In the last eight years, the FCC has conducted 5G spectrum auctions that have contributed over $121.2 billion to the U.S. Treasury with an additional $12.05 billion awarded to incumbent broadcast television licensees as compensation for quickly abandoning a channel assignment, or changing frequencies. This paper reports on the decisions reached at WRC-19 with an eye toward assessing whether the ITU can reach timely resolution of spectrum allocation disputes. Additionally, the paper identifies the benefits and costs in the FCC’s unilateral 5G spectrum initiatives that include market-driven resource frequency assignments instead of full compliance with longstanding ITU “rules of the road” that seek to optimize technologies and harmonize spectrum allocations globally. The paper also assesses whether the ITU can remain a trusted and effective forum even though the FCC and other government agencies justify unilateralism as necessary to address national security, trade and 5G leadership concerns for which the ITU has no basis to resolve. The paper concludes that U.S. efforts to maintain or reacquire 5G market and technology leadership will generate positive “first mover” advantages, but also unanticipated and offsetting harmful consequences.

The evolving 5G case study in United States unilateral spectrum planning and policy

This paper tracks increasingly aggressive initiatives by the United States government to reallocate spectrum on an expedited and unilateral basis well before conclusion of inter-governmental coordination. Rather than embrace the customary commitment to achieve consensus on global spectrum allocations at the International Telecommunication Union (“ITU”), the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) has auctioned off large blocks of frequencies for the next generation (“5G”) of wireless services.The FCC might have framed its first 5G auction, reassigning Ultra High Frequency (“UHF”) spectrum, as a one-time deviation from compliance with long standing, intergovernmental coordination procedures. These frequencies have ideal signal propagation characteristics and the Commission could use financial incentives—unavailable in most nations—to expedite “repacking” by incumbent broadcasters willing to move, share or abandon spectrum in exchange for ample financial compensation. However, the FCC has continued to auction off 5G spectrum on grounds that it must find ways to abate an acute shortage of wireless bandwidth and doing so will regain or maintain global leadership in wireless technologies. This paper offers a critical rebuke to unilateral spectrum management, because the short-term benefits expected by the U. S. government likely will be offset by countervailing harms to 5G manufacturers, carriers and consumers. The paper tracks fractious preparation for the ITU's 2019 World Radio Conference by the U.S. delegation and the mixed record achieved there. Additionally, the paper explains how injecting trade, industrial policy and national security issues at the ITU can trigger more delays and disputes, including possible retaliation by nations displeased with U.S. efforts to subvert traditional technology optimization goals.A worst case scenario has the ITU deadlocked and unable to reach closure on “mission critical” spectrum planning issues at World Radio Conferences, convened every four years. The paper concludes that costs and likely challenges to the efficacy and legitimacy of the ITU will reduce the benefits accruing from the FCC's unilateral, spectrum planning campaign.

The Evolving 5G Case Study in the United States Unilateral Spectrum Planning and Policy

This paper tracks increasingly aggressive initiatives by the United States government to reallocate spectrum on an expedited and unilateral basis well before conclusion of inter-governmental coordination. Rather than embrace the customary commitment to achieve consensus on global spectrum allocations at the International Telecommunication Union (“ITU”), the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) has auctioned off large blocks of frequencies for the next generation (“5G”) of wireless services. The FCC might have framed its first 5G auction, reassigning Ultra High Frequency (“UHF”) spectrum, as a one-time deviation from compliance with long standing, inter-governmental coordination procedures. These frequencies have ideal signal propagation characteristics and the Commission could use financial incentives — unavailable in most nations — to expedite “repacking” by incumbent broadcasters willing to move, share or abandon spectrum in exchange for ample financial compensation. However, the FCC has continued to auction off 5G spectrum on grounds that it must find ways to abate an acute shortage of wireless bandwidth and doing so will regain or maintain global leadership in wireless technologies. This paper offers a critical rebuke to unilateral spectrum management, because the short-term benefits expected by the U. S. government likely will be offset by countervailing harms to 5G manufacturers, carriers and consumers. The paper tracks fractious preparation for the ITU’s 2019 World Radio Conference by the U.S. delegation and the mixed record achieved there. Additionally, the paper explains how injecting trade, industrial policy and national security issues at the ITU can trigger more delays and disputes, including possible retaliation by nations displeased with U.S. efforts to subvert traditional technology optimization goals. A worst case scenario has the ITU deadlocked and unable to reach closure on “mission critical” spectrum planning issues at World Radio Conferences, convened every four years. The paper concludes that costs and likely challenges to the efficacy and legitimacy of the ITU will reduce the benefits accruing from the FCC’s unilateral, spectrum planning campaign.

Small satellite TT&C allocations below 1\xa0GHz: outcome of ITU WRC-19

As hundreds of new small satellites are being launched each year, the RF spectrum for satellite communication becomes increasingly occupied. The International Telecommunication Union recognized this problem at World Radiocommunication Conference 2015 (WRC-15) and invited study groups to investigate the utilization of frequency allocations. The studies followed a three-step approach: first, the TT&C spectrum requirements of small satellites, being a new class of satellites, were assessed. Second, the utilization of existing TT&C frequency allocations and their potential to incorporate the future number of satellites was studied. Third, the study groups investigated new potential TT&C frequency allocations in the frequency ranges 150.05–174 MHz and 400.15–420 MHz. The studies were completed for WRC-19. This paper presents the results of the study groups. A study of the spectrum requirements of small satellites has been completed. The required spectrum for TT&C was estimated to be less than 2.5 MHz for downlink and less than 1 MHz for uplink. Consequently, the study groups conducted sharing studies in various bands which yield that no new allocations are suitable for small satellite TT&C on a co-channel sharing basis. However, regulatory measures are proposed that in the study groups’ view will satisfy the small satellite developers’ needs. The paper will summarize the regulatory measures taken after WRC-19 along with a personal appraisal of the author.

Radio propagation measurements and modeling for standardization of the site general path loss model in International Telecommunications Union recommendations for 5G wireless networks

AbstractThe International Telecommunications Union Radiocommunication Sector (ITU‐R) Study Group 3 identified the need for a number of radio channel models in anticipation of the World Radiocommunications Conference in 2019 when the frequency allocation for 5G will be discussed. In response to the call for propagation path loss models, members of the study group carried out measurements in the frequency bands between 0.8 GHz up to 73 GHz in urban low‐rise and urban high‐rise as well as suburban environments. The data were subsequently merged to generate site general path loss models. The paper presents an overview of the radio channel measurements, the measured environments, the data analysis, and the approach for the derivation of the path loss model adopted in Recommendation ITU‐R P.1411‐10 (2019‐08).

A WRC–19 hatása a katonai spektrumhozzáférésre

Jelen cikk megírásával az a szándékom, hogy felhívjam a katonai közösség figyelmét egy olyan eseményre, ami alapvetően határozza meg a védelmi célú, azon belül is a katonai célú, rádióspektrumhoz történő hozzáférést, röviden spektrumhozzáférést. Ez az esemény nem más, mint az ITU-R Rádiótávközlési Világértekezlete. Az esemény fontosságát jól tükrözi a NATO-szövetségen belül a spektrumgazdálkodásért felelős Spektrumképesség Panel munkája, valamint az értekezletre történt felkészülési folyamat. Végül, de nem utolsósorban a világértekezlet azon napirendi pontjait mutatom be röviden, amelyek a NATO katonai rendszereinek működési frekvenciatartományait érintették, valamint az egyes napirendi pontok esetében elért eredményeket, hogyan befolyásolták a katonai spektrumhozzáférést, esetleg okozhatnak-e katonai spektrumeróziót.

Adjacent Channel Compatibility Evaluation and Interference Mitigation Technique Between Earth Station in Motion and IMT-2020

The millimeter wave band is becoming popular for mobile broadband usage such as fifth-generation (5G) mobile and mobile satellite services utilizing earth stations in motion (ESIM). According to the 2019 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-19), the 5G and ESIM systems will operate in adjacent frequency bands bounded by 27.5 GHz; therefore, the adjacent channel compatibility between ESIM and 5G should be verified. Both, the minimum coupling loss (MCL) and Monte-Carlo (MC) methods are applied to assess the worst and most practical interference effects, respectively, for all types of ESIM including the following: maritime ESIM (M-ESIM), land ESIM (L-ESIM), and aeronautical ESIM (A-ESIM). The distance and guard band between the two systems are indicated by the compatibility conditions. In addition to the conventional interference-to-noise ratio ( $I/N$ ), the throughput loss of a 5G system is proposed to assess the performance degradation caused by the ESIM interference. Two orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) waveforms are proposed to suppress ESIM power leakage into an adjacent channel. A mathematical expression regarding the power spectral density (PSD) and frequency dependent rejection (FDR) is derived for these waveforms, suggesting that the interference can be alleviated. A measured single carrier waveform of a commercial ESIM equipment is used as the benchmark against the proposed OFDM waveforms. The windowed OFDM is able to reduce the guard band by 50–77%. The results obtained for various elevation angles of the ESIM antenna are determined to be applicable to various regions globally.

ITU WRC-19 Spectrum Policy Results

Reports on spectrum management policy development and discussions that took place at the nternational Telecommunication Union’s (ITU) World Radiocommunication Conference 2019 (WRC-19) that was held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, from 28 October to 22 November 2019.

The evolving 5G case study in spectrum management and industrial policy

Even before the International Telecommunication Union (“ITU”) reaches consensus on spectrum allocations for fifth generation wireless technologies (“5G”), commercial ventures scramble to offer new equipment and services. Expediting 5G wireless service can benefit consumers and businesses at the risk of stressing the traditional process of spectrum planning that combines study, dialogue and consensus building at ITU conferences.This paper explains why most nations refused to endorse key United States 5G spectrum allocation proposals at the ITU’s, 2015 World Radio Conference. U.S. representatives underestimated the time needed for consensus building, despite increasing demand for wireless video and the evolving Internet of Things. Other contributing factors include U.S. support for treating spectrum like property, use of “incentive auctions” to clear broadcast television spectrum with unprecedented speed and enough existing wireless spectrum allocations in most nations.The paper concludes that the U.S. cannot expect faster frequency reallocations, particularly when it and other nations pursue matters having little to do with spectrum optimization. The paper offers recommendations on best practices for improving the consensus building process.

REGULATION OF RADIO FREQUENCY SPECTRUM AND ITS IMPLEMENTATION CHALLENGES IN THE PERSPECTIVE OF INTERNATIONAL LAW

The radio frequency spectrum is a limited natural resource, which is very important and strategic in the operation of telecommunications. Considering that it is a limited natural resource, its management is regulated internationally by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), in which details are set out in the radio regulations (RR) as an integral part of the ITU Convention. The study is based on applicable legal regulations and is supported by literature studies. The results of the study indicate that the regulation of the radio frequency spectrum is based on radio regulations, international agreements within the ITU through the World Radio communication Conference forum. The implications of regulating the use of the radio frequency spectrum always take into account the general public needs for the dynamics of the progress in telecommunications technology, of which implementation of its utilisation rests in the principle of fairness and equity between regions, and efficiency. Therefore, all policies made are directed at creating a market balance, ensuring fair competition between telecommunication operators as a potential to prevent market dominance, as well as protecting consumers.

REGULATION OF RADIO FREQUENCY SPECTRUM AND ITS IMPLEMENTATION CHALLENGES IN THE PERPECTIVE OF INTERNATIONAL LAW

The radio frequency spectrum is a limited natural resource which is very vital and strategic in the operation of telecomunications. Considering that the radio frequency spectrum is a limited natural resources, its management is regulated internatioanlly by the International Telecomunication Union (ITU), in which details are set out in the radio regulations (RR) as an integal part of the ITU Convention. The study is based on applicable legal regulations and is supported by literature studies. The result of the study indicate that the regulation of the radio frequency spectrum is based on radio regulation, international agreements within the ITU throught the World Radiocommunication Conference forum. The implications of regulating the use off the radio frequency spectrum always take into account the general public needs for the dynamics of the progress in telecomunications technology, of which implementation of its utilization rest on the principle of fairness and equity between regions and efficiency. Therefore, all policies made are directed at creating a market balance, ensuring fair competition between telecomunication operators as a potential to prevent market dominance, as well as protecting consumers.

The Evolving 5G Case Study in Spectrum Management and Industrial Policy

Even before national governments reach consensus on frequencies for the fifth generation (“5G”) of wireless radio, carriers and equipment manufacturers in the United States tout benefits and scramble to accelerate ready for service dates. Remarkably, most nations meeting a forum organized by the International Telecommunication Union (“ITU”) did not embrace the need to expedite 5G spectrum planning and management. At the 2015 World Radio Conference (“WRC-15”), the United States partially failed to secure consensus support for expanding global spectrum allocations to include more bandwidth near existing allocations in the Ultra High Frequency (“UHF”) band and at extremely high frequencies in both single and double digit GigaHertz. This paper will identify the numerous factors that contributed to the refusal of most nations, including customary allies, to endorse some United States 5G spectrum allocations proposals. Reasons for the lack of shared concerns for timely action include unreasonable expectations about the speed with which the ITU can reach consensus; the lack of full consensus even within the U.S. delegation to WRC 15; inaction by most nations in starting the process for reallocating UHF broadcast television spectrum for terrestrial wireless; the FCC’s incentive auctions that shared revenues with broadcasters; and the absence of an immediate and acute shortage of wireless spectrum in many of the 193 countries participating in the ITU. The paper also will consider whether industrial policies and concerns about cybersecurity also affected strategies and articulated positions at the ITU forum, as well as the likelihood for reaching consensus. More broadly, the paper will assess whether the ITU has become increasingly less able to forge compromises and consensus, particularly when nations consider whether and how to promote national carriers and equipment manufacturers – so-called national heroes — and the duty to safeguard citizens and government agencies from espionage. The paper concludes with recommendations on how governments and the ITU can achieve better and more timely outcomes in the consensus building process.

Spectrum Policy and Regulatory Issues

The Radiocommunication Conference 2019 (WRC-19) will convene in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, from 28 October to 22 November 2019. These conferences are held every three to four years. It is the job of WRC to review and, if necessary, revise the Radio Regulations, the international treaty governing the use of the radio-frequency spectrum and the geostationary-satellite and non-geostationary-satellite orbits. Revisions are made on the basis of an agenda determined by the ITU Council, which takes into account recommendations made by previous world radiocommunication conferences. Reports on the WRC-19 agenda and examines regulations to be considered.

Radio spectrum regulation as a matter of international affairs: discussing the effectiveness of the European Union at World Radiocommunication Conferences

PurposeThis paper aims to discuss the effectiveness of the European Union (EU) at World Radiocommunication Conferences (WRCs) by comparing EU objectives prior to and outcomes of recent WRCs.Design/methodology/approachA thematic analysis of qualitative data extracted from documents is conducted. The effectiveness of the EU is discussed by using the concepts of agenda-setting and coalition-building, borrowed from international relations literature.FindingsA clear conclusion on EU effectiveness could not be drawn based on the degree of match between EU objectives and WRC outcomes. Other factors need to be included in the analysis, such as relevance of the EU’s participation at WRCs to the EU member states and availability and allocation of EU resources to the various stages of the WRC process.Research limitations/implicationsFurther research is encouraged to investigate the role of the EU at WRCs. In particular, interviews with experts involved in the WRC process may help gather relevant information on EU relevance and EU resource availability and allocation.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to existing research on international radio spectrum regulation by drawing attention to the role of the EU as an international actor.

Spectrum Management and Its Importance for Microwave Remote Sensing [Technical Committees

Fair and efficient management of the radio-frequency (RF) spectrum as used by different scientific and commercial services is becoming more and more challenging, and this can have a considerable impact on microwave remote sensing. Here, we provide an overview of those spectrum management aspects relevant to the remote-sensing community, along with an introduction to the actors and processes involved in spectrum regulation, including the World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC).

On the protection of fixed service receivers from the interference generated by non‐GSO satellite systems operating in the 3.7‐4.2 GHz band

SummaryIn this work, the current power‐flux density limits in Article 21 of the ITU‐R Radio Regulations for non‐geostationary satellite orbit (GSO) systems operating in the 3.7‐4.2 GHz band are analyzed. These limits aim the protection of fixed service receivers, operating in the same frequency band, from the interference produced by non‐GSO satellite systems. The analysis was motivated by Resolution 157 of the World Radiocommunication Conference 2015, that recognized the need for a revision of Article 21 with a view to enabling non‐GSO systems to operate in these fixed‐satellite service frequency bands while ensuring that existing primary services are protected. In the analysis, 5 different circular Walker Delta type satellite constellation structures, adequately chosen, are considered, and the results show that the current power‐flux density (pfd) limits may impose undue constraints to non‐GSO systems operating in this band. Therefore, a methodology to investigate a more adequate pfd limiting mask is presented and used to generate an alternative mask. An evaluation of the proposed pfd mask shows that it does not impose unnecessary constraints to the non‐GSO satellite systems. This, along with other facts, indicates that the proposed pfd limits are, indeed, much more adequate than the current ones.

RF Driven 5G System Design for Centimeter Waves

5G system design is a complex process due to a great variety of applications and their diverse requirements. This article describes our experiences in developing a centimeter waves mobile broadband concept satisfying future capacity requirements. The first step in the process was the radio channel measurement campaign and statistical modeling. Then the link level design was performed tightly together with the radio frequency (RF) implementation requirements to allow as large scalability of the air interface as possible. We started the concept development at 10 GHz frequency band and during the project World Radiocommunication Conference 2015 selected somewhat higher frequencies as new candidates for 5G. Thus, the main learning was to gain insight of interdependencies of different phenomena and find feasible combinations of techniques and parameter combinations that might actually work in practice, not only in theory.

Wideband Millimeter-Wave Channel Characterization in an Open Office at 26 GHz

Based on the newest frequency allocation for the fifth generation (5G) radio systems at 26 GHz millimeter wave band by the World Radio Communications Conference, this paper investigates the wideband channel properties by measurements carried out in the LOS and NLOS environments at 26 GHz with 1 GHz bandwidth in an open office at KeySight Beijing, China, which is a representative of an indoor hotspot scenario. In the time domain measurements, an omni-directional biconical horn is used at the transmitter, while at the receiver a 24.3 dBi horn is applied and rotated with 5° angular step in the whole azimuth plane, and from −20° to 30° in the elevation plane with 10° angular step. In the work, two kinds of path-loss models are developed, namely directional and omni-directional models by using close-in and float intercept methods. The directional path-loss model is useful for adopting beamforming techniques. The large scale channel parameters such as the shadow fading, root mean square (RMS) delay spread, RMS angular spread in the azimuth and elevation planes, Ricean K-factor, number of clusters and their correlations are investigated for the fifth generation (5G) link and system level simulations. A new method for extracting number of clusters is proposed to find the peak power within a sliding window. The power angular profiles are employed at the measurement locations for propagation mechanisms studies. We believe that the newest results in this work are useful in the simulations and planning for future 5G radio systems at 26 GHz.

Guest Editorial Deployment Issues and Performance Challenges for 5G, Part I

There are rapid developments towards the deployment of 5G and hardly a day goes by without the release of a major announcement concerning 5G. Many of these developments are happening in parallel as there is a race against time for 5G deployment. Various test beds have been established, laboratory trials and proof of concept trials of individual building blocks of 5G are already underway or have been completed, large scale system trials are also happening or are planned and standardisation efforts in the ITU, 3GPP, IEEE, etc. are also in progress. In the case of ITU/3GPP, the standards are expected to be completed by 2019. Many candidate bands for 5G in the centimetric and mm wave range were identified by the World Radio Conference (WRC) 2015 and are expected to be finalized by WRC 2019, while coexistence studies of 5G and existing systems in the new candidate bands are underway.