Options for a Harmonised
Allocation to Support Utility
Operations (Smart Grids)
Final Report
Study for European Utilities
Telecom Council (EUTC)
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16.03.2010
Ægis Systems Limited
Spectrum for Smart Grids
Table of Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................ 1
1
INTRODUCTION ................................................................................. 10
2
CURRENT SITUATION ........................................................................ 13
2.1
Introduction ........................................................................................................ 13
2.1.1
Italy .................................................................................................................. 13
2.1.2
Latvia ............................................................................................................... 14
2.1.3
Scotland .......................................................................................................... 16
2.1.4
Spain ............................................................................................................... 17
3
KEY REQUIREMENTS......................................................................... 18
3.1
Cross Border ...................................................................................................... 18
3.2
Spectrum Requirements .................................................................................... 19
3.2.1
Bandwidth requirements ................................................................................. 19
3.2.2
Frequency bands ............................................................................................ 20
3.3
Time Division Multiplex (TDD) or Frequency Division Multiplex
(FDD)? ................................................................................................................. 21
3.4
Licensed or licence-exempt spectrum? .......................................................... 23
3.5
Dedicated or shared spectrum and networks ................................................. 23
3.5.1
Shared networks ............................................................................................. 23
3.5.2
Shared spectrum ............................................................................................. 24
4
SPECTRUM ....................................................................................... 27
4.1
Introduction ........................................................................................................ 27
4.2
88 – 108 MHz ....................................................................................................... 27
4.3
230 - 380 MHz ...................................................................................................... 27
4.4
380 – 470 MHz ..................................................................................................... 28
4.5
470 – 862 MHz ..................................................................................................... 30
4.5.1
Digital Dividend ............................................................................................... 30
4.5.1.1
Introduction ................................................................................................ 30
4.5.1.2
Potential for access to 800 MHz spectrum ................................................ 30
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Guard band ................................................................................................ 31
4.5.2
Spectrum between 470 and 790 MHz ............................................................. 32
4.5.3
White Spaces and Interleaved Spectrum ........................................................ 33
4.6
870 – 876 paired with 915 – 921 MHz ................................................................ 35
4.7
1452 – 1492 MHz ................................................................................................. 36
4.8
1670 – 1675 MHz ................................................................................................. 38
4.9
1785 – 1805 MHz ................................................................................................. 38
4.10
1710 – 1880 MHz ................................................................................................. 39
4.11
2025 – 2110 MHz and 2200 – 2290 MHz ............................................................ 42
4.12
2300 – 2400 MHz ................................................................................................. 43
4.13
2500 – 2690 MHz ................................................................................................. 45
4.14
3400 – 3800 MHz ................................................................................................. 46
5
MARKET CONSIDERATIONS ............................................................... 49
5.1
Auctions .............................................................................................................. 49
5.2
Economies of scale ............................................................................................ 50
6
APPROACHES ADOPTED IN OTHER COUNTRIES .................................. 52
6.1
Australia .............................................................................................................. 52
6.2
Canada ................................................................................................................ 52
6.3
USA ...................................................................................................................... 54
7
CONCLUSIONS .................................................................................. 58
A
ANNEX A: POTENTIAL OF OBTAINING ACCESS TO 470 – 862 MHZ
SPECTRUM ....................................................................................... 64
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Introduction
A continuous, reliable power supply is an expectation of industry and consumers
alike and loss of supply, especially over an extended period, can cause
considerable hardship to the public and also loss of output and revenue to industry.
Europe has committed to reduce energy consumption by 20%, to generate 20% of
energy needs from renewable sources and to reduce CO2 by 20% by the year
2020. These political objectives have created serious challenges for the energy
sector in all member states.
Electricity generation and consumption must be balanced across the whole grid to
ensure a continuous supply as most energy is consumed immediately after it is
produced. European initiatives to encourage generation from renewable sources
within industry and at domestic level adds a new dimension to managing energy
networks because the output of these devices in not easily predicted. The
complication of integrating possibly millions of local domestic generators across
Europe creates new challenges for energy network operators. To provide stability
and quality of service in the networks of the future, control and management of
many thousands of items of electrical plant, even within a single company will be
essential.
A large failure in any part of the grid can cause further failures, unless action is
taken quickly, if the current is re-routed over transmission lines not having sufficient
capacity and can potentially lead to cascading failure and widespread outages.
Increasingly there is integration of electricity markets and with interconnected power
systems the reliability of supply is not specific to an individual country. Interruptions
in any particular system may therefore have significant cross border impacts. It is
therefore essential, to ensure continuity of supply, to monitor and control the
complete grid network from power generation through transmission to distribution as
shown in the figure below. This requires a communications network that can
support the applications needs of the different elements of the grid network:
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Figure 0.1: General layout of electricity network in Europe.
(Source: Wikipedia - Author J Messerly)
While for some elements of the communications networks wired solutions may be
feasible and suitable in many instances wireless is necessary to provide the
necessary flexibility and mobility and minimise costs. However information provided
by Utility Companies in Europe indicates that there is currently no harmonised
spectrum to support the mission critical1 communication requirements of the fuel
and power industries. Instead, individual frequencies are typically assigned on a
1
Mission critical is considered to be the essential real time applications that are necessary to monitor,
control and maintain the Smart Grid network and do not necessarily include smart metering.
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country by country basis for applications such as SCADA 2, PMR3 and backhaul
links. There is currently insufficient spectrum to meet their needs, especially for
point to multipoint communications, and very little specifically allocated for their
exclusive use.
Smart Grids
This lack of spectrum is already far from ideal for many Utility Organisations and will
be compounded by the need to efficiently manage the electricity and gas networks
to enable Governments to reduce their carbon footprint and achieve a 20% increase
in energy efficiency by 2020. This will require new sources of power generation
such as solar and wind to be fed into the grid network, all of which will need to be
monitored and controlled, and these can be at dispersed locations including highly
populated areas as well as remote areas. For example it will become necessary to
monitor and control the transformers in the low voltage (distribution) part of the
electricity grid network and this might be thousands or even millions of locations
spread geographically across a country.
The figures below demonstrate the impact of needing to control and monitor many
more points in the distribution grid. In the first figure the customers are consumers
of power and there is limited automation at the 11kV supply distribution level or at
the customer premises. This is the situation that generally exists now.
Figure 0.2: Current control and monitoring in grid networks with power flow
from high power generation plants to end users only
(Source: EUTC)
2
Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition
3
Private Mobile Radio
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In the next figure the customer may also deliver excess energy into the grid network
from, for example, solar panels, small wind turbines or even the batteries of an
electric car, and the communications network will need to be enhanced accordingly
to approximately 100% of customers, 50% of the11 kV low voltage sub-stations and
100% of the 66kV and 33 kV sub-stations.
Note: Number of locations shown on right side of triangular block
Figure 0.3: Future control and monitoring needed for Smart Grids
(Source: EUTC)
Communications Network
Of course not all of the required communications applications need access to
dedicated networks to meet the necessary high to very high reliability, security and
quality of service (24/7) requirements. For some less critical applications, such as
smart metering, it may be feasible to share networks (e.g. public cellular networks).
Also it may be possible to utilise capacity on fibre networks where there is a need
for higher data rate fixed point to point communications but for low capacity point to
multi point communications, especially in rural areas, radio will be the most cost
effective solution.
To meet the more critical communication needs it is not considered that licenceexempt spectrum will be a viable option because it is shared with many other users
and the interference environment cannot be effectively managed. Therefore it is
necessary to identify spectrum that can be licensed on a dedicated or shared basis.
However it is unlikely that the utilities will be able to share spectrum with most other
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users4 with the possible exception of the military if there is limited geographic use of
the spectrum (e.g. it is only used at specific locations and times for training
exercises).
The other consideration is whether it is necessary to identify suitable paired
spectrum, as gaining access to FDD spectrum is likely to be significantly more
difficult and expensive especially in the lower frequency bands, or whether unpaired
spectrum is suitable. The main determinant will be whether the Smart Grid
applications require a low or very low latency and whether TDD spectrum can meet
these needs.
Frequency Bands
It is estimated that between 15 and 30 MHz of spectrum will be required within the
next 5 years and that the ideal spectrum will be below 1 GHz, although up to 4 GHz
may be viable for some applications. One important consideration is the locations of
the substations are pre-determined as they already exist and they are rarely located
optimally to support radio links. Planning / environmental restrictions will not
generally allow the use of high towers to provide clear line of sight so it is necessary
to compromise and use frequencies that can operate over obstructed paths. That is
the reason why the utilities already have access in many European countries to
spectrum in the range 415 to 465 MHz (e.g. in the UK 457.5 to 464 MHz is allocated
to scanning telemetry).
The table below provides an overview of the frequency bands that appear to have
the best potential of meeting the requirements of smart-grids. The 1700 – 1830
MHz band has been included because the 1800 – 1830 MHz band has already been
allocated in Canada for electricity management communications. In our opinion, it is
unlikely that it will be possible to identify and obtain access to a single block of
harmonised spectrum in the short to medium term. However on a country by
country basis it should be possible to identify spectrum within a limited number of
bands. The key to success will therefore be to identify a number of frequency bands
so a limited multi band option can be adopted for Europe.
4
The exception is fixed point to point links where the spectrum is licensed on a first come first served
basis on a link by link basis.
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Frequency
FDD / TDD
Band
Spectrum for Smart Grids
Potential to
Timescales
Potential of gaining access

Medium – High. Spectrum
harmonise
band in
Europe for
Smart Grids
380 – 470 MHz
FDD / TDD
Low -
5 years5
Medium
already used by utilities in the
band. Unlikely to gain sufficient
spectrum to meet full
requirements and harmonisation
across Europe may be difficult
but may be possible to obtain
access to a harmonised tuning
range. Important band for PMR
and also different frequencies
used by emergency services
across Europe (though these
are generally migrating to the
harmonised TETRA band at
380-400 MHz)
470 – 790 MHz
TDD
Low -
< 5 years
medium
Medium
Much depends on
administrations replanning their
frequencies used for digital
broadcasting and being able to
identify a number of 8 MHz TV
channels that can be released
within a specific frequency
range. Interference issues if not
harmonised due to high powers
used for TV transmissions and
occasional anomalous
propagation conditions
1452 – 1492
TDD
Low medium
5
< 5 years
Medium - high
The band is not the only one
Band is
available to provide terrestrial
currently
digital audio broadcasting, so
In the UK the MoD has indicated that 406.1 – 430 MHz may be released by November 2010. Other
countries are not so pro-active in encouraging the military to release spectrum and there is continuing
demand for PMR and other civil uses
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harmonised
potential to release some
for terrestrial
spectrum. Limited licences for
and satellite
T-DAB issued.
digital audio
RSPG Opinion in 2006
broadcasting
considered high probability for
Europe wide availability of
common spectrum for the
introduction of multi media
services.
Possible cross border
interference issues.
1710 – 1880
FDD
MHz
Low
Band is
harmonised
for IMT
Possibility of
gaining access
when licences
are renewed or
now if spare
spectrum is
available.
Cellular
operators will be
gaining access
Low - Medium
Spectrum identified for use in
Canada for smart grids. The
cellular operators are likely to
react strongly and adversely to
any suggestions to allocate
spectrum to the utilities on a
country by country basis due to
the considerable growth seen in
the take up of data services
to further
spectrum so
might be able to
release some
bandwidth.
2025 -2110 and
FDD / TDD
2200 – 2290
Medium to
< 5 years
high
High for low density
applications.
MHz
Would need to convince the
space community and military
users that it is possible to share
spectrum
2300 – 2400
FDD / TDD
MHz
Medium to
Unknown
high
Medium.
Mixed use of the band across
Europe but might be potential to
release quickly in some
countries. WiMAX equipment
already available.
2500 – 2690
MHz
FDD / TDD
Medium
Band
Spectrum
already
Medium
Potential to acquire spectrum via
awarded in
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harmonised
some
for IMT
European
countries
licence tenders or trading
WiMAX equipment already
available for TDD. FDD LTE
equipment already available but
paired spectrum likely to be
prohibitively expensive
3400 – 3600
FDD / TDD
Medium
MHz
Spectrum
already
awarded in
Medium
Potential to acquire spectrum via
licence tenders or trading
some European
countries
WiMAX equipment already
available for FDD and TDD.
Will need to co-ordinate with
satellite earth stations
3600 – 3800
MHz
FDD / TDD
Medium to
Spectrum to be
high
made available
from 2012
Medium
Potential to acquire spectrum via
licence tenders
WiMAX equipment already
available.
3600 – 4200 MHz is a fixed
point to point band and it is also
used for satellite earth stations
so there are potential coordination issues
Table 0.1: Overview of potential frequency bands
Market Considerations
The ideal outcome would be for the European Commission to identify spectrum that
can be specifically used for Smart Grids as has happened in Canada. It is difficult to
predict whether this will be possible in Europe with the different competing demands
for spectrum, especially in frequency bands below 3 GHz. It is therefore important,
when identifying possible spectrum to take account of:
 What would happen if the spectrum was awarded through a competitive
process such as an auction?
 What might be the potential for economies of scale?
Increasingly administrations are using auctions to award spectrum on a technology
and service neutral basis and prices are likely to be higher for those frequencies
below 1 GHz, with contiguous bandwidth of more than 10 MHz that support FDD
operation. It will be important to match the communications requirements of Smart
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Grids with suitable spectrum and understand the implications of competing for
spectrum with large commercial wireless operators.
There are technologies currently available, such as WiMAX that might be suitable
for point to multipoint communications. While the equipment might already be
available in some frequency bands, see Table 0.1 above, it should be recognised
that if there are sufficient economies of scale it is highly likely the manufacturers will
be willing to “reband” the equipment. However if there are only a limited number of
countries that adopt a non-standard frequency band the manufacturers may be
unwilling to modify the RF elements of the equipment or will charge a premium.
The multi-band option would incur additional development and production cost but if
this can be harmonised across Europe these should be largely offset by the
economies of scale that would result compared to country-specific solutions.
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INTRODUCTION
There is increasing pressure on Governments to reduce their carbon footprint and
the EU is aiming to reduce energy consumption by 20%, to generate 20% of energy
needs from renewable sources and to reduce CO2 by 20% by the year 2020 6. This
can only be achieved if it is possible to manage efficiently the electricity (and also
gas) networks – known as Smart Grids – and that requires all aspects from the
generation, to the transmission and distribution, and the usage by customers to be
optimised, controlled and secure.
The emphasis currently is on smart metering but that is only the tip of the iceberg
with regards to efficiently managing the electricity and also gas networks. A smart
meter is just one small part of the Smart Grid. It provides real time or near real time
information on the electricity or gas consumption, at a residential or industrial
location, power outage notification and also power quality monitoring. Each meter
needs to be able to reliably and securely communicate the information it has
collected and send it back to a central location for monitoring and billing purposes.
Solutions adopted to date vary considerably and include the use of public cellular
networks and various other licensed and unlicensed radio technologies, such as
WiFi and WiMAX.
While these relatively high latency solutions might work for delay tolerant smart
metering applications they are unlikely to be suitable for the other communications
elements of a Smart Grid which require low latency (e.g. less than 10ms) and
dedicated spectrum to provide the required reliability and security.
A typical Smart Grid is shown in the figure below:
6
10
Source: “ICT for a Low Carbon Economy: Smart Electricity Distribution Networks”, July 2009.
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Figure 1.1: General layout of electricity network in Europe.
(Source: Wikipedia - Author J Messerly)
Historically electricity systems have only required one way information flow back to
central points. Grid reliability was assured by having excess capacity in the system
and the flow of electricity was only in one direction – from central points (e.g. power
plants) to end users. It can be seen from the figure above that Smart Grids have the
potential to integrate other distributed sources of energy (e.g. solar, wind and wave
power) of all sizes and this leads to the flow of electricity in two directions and
communications also need to be two way. For example wind energy from a small
turbine installed in the back garden of a consumer could potentially be fed into the
electricity grid when there is excess available. Smart Grids will also provide:
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 Enhanced voltage control through remote sensors and distributed active
devices
 Improved fault detection and enhanced condition monitoring which will
increase reliability and enhance preventative maintenance
 Further and more enhanced automation that can optimise the operation of the
network, reduce restoration times and the need for excess capacity and
storage in the network
 Improved security and resilience of the grid.
The challenge is to provide a communications network that can support the required
real time monitoring and response – it needs an integrated, secure and fully
redundant network that connects all the electricity generation, distribution and
consumption locations. Wireless will be a key ingredient and therefore over the next
3 to 5 years as Smart Grids are rolled out across Europe access to sufficient and
suitable radio spectrum, below 4 GHz and ideally below 1 GHz, will be essential.
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2
CURRENT SITUATION
2.1
Introduction
Spectrum for Smart Grids
Information provided by Utility Companies in Europe indicates that there is currently
no harmonised spectrum to support the mission critical communication requirements
of the fuel and power industries. Instead, individual frequencies are typically
assigned on a country by country basis for applications such as SCADA, PMR and
backhaul links. There is currently insufficient spectrum to meet their needs,
especially for point to multipoint communications where typically spectrum in the
range 415 to 465 MHz is used (e.g. in the UK the spectrum 457.5 to 464 MHz is
allocated to scanning telemetry), and overall very little spectrum is specifically
allocated for their use only.
In the following sections we summarise the situation in four indicative countries:
2.1.1
Italy
The power utility communications infrastructure in Italy consists of a mix of different
technologies including integrated wired and wireless solutions. While previously
critical core services were provided using private networks (e.g. fixed point to point
links and mobile radio) they are now often provided by Telecommunications
Operators over their wired and wireless Public Networks. For example when
considering the most critical core services:
 Telecontrol is supported via IP connectivity over a mix of wired and wireless
public and private networks
 Teleprotection uses point to point private wired links
 Operational telephony uses cellular networks
There is no specific spectrum allocated to the utilities but there are frequencies
reserved for private use which can be used and these include:
 440 MHz, which supports 12.5 and 25 kHz channel bandwidths
 2.3 GHz which supports 2, 4 and 8 MHz bandwidths, and
 7, 18 and 38 GHz, which supports a wide range of bandwidths and bit rates
(e.g. 2 to 155 Mbit/s)
However due to spectrum congestion it is very difficult to find sufficient frequencies
to set up a comprehensive private wireless network and there are no specific
optimised proven solutions available in the market place to meet the requirements
of utility organisations.
It is foreseen in Italy that critical infrastructure for Smart Grids will need improved
coverage as the currently used public networks do not reach dispersed plant in
rural and remote rural areas. To monitor and control the MV / LV segments of the
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grid network it is not expected that it will be necessary to transfer huge amounts of
data (e.g. hundreds of kb/s) but it is noted that there are likely to be aggregation
points which will need wideband transmission.
Catastrophic failures can occur on the grid at any time often due to natural events
such as earthquakes and floods and it is only then that the efficacy of the
communications network is proven or otherwise. The use of dependent
communications provided by Public Operators is not ideally suited in such
circumstances. The regulator has been approached to allocate a specific range of
frequencies for utility applications – this was during the award of WiMAX spectrum.
2.1.2
Latvia
In Latvia there is currently insufficient spectrum for the utilities where there is a
requirement for point to multipoint communications and wide area communications.
The table below provides a brief summary:
Service
Purpose
Allocated
frequencies
Is there sufficient
spectrum? (Yes
or No) / Reason
for insufficient
spectrum
Spectrum
only
allocated to
Utilities?
(Yes or No)
Spectrum
licensed and
shared with
other users?
(Yes or No)
Spectrum shared
with other users
and no
requirement for a
licence? (Yes or
No)
Point to
multipoint
fixed links
SCADA ;
440-445
MHz
No.
No
No
Yes
No
frequencies
are
allocated!
No.
No
-
-
No
Yes,
No
Monitoring of
critical network
infrastructure
component
Remote
switching
emergency
shut down
/
Security (e.g.
CCTV)
Point to
point
fixed links
Backhaul
Inter-site data
links
Currently
use 900
/1800MHz
(public
GSM)
12,75112,975GHz/
No specific
broadband
spectrum for
monitoring of
critical network
infrastructure
components is
available for
utilities
No specific
broadband
spectrum for
remote switching /
emergency shut
down is available
for utilities
Yes
6 users;
13,01718 users;
No
13,241GHz
17,719,7GHz
22-22,6GHz/
23-23,6GHz
12 users;
6 users (ISP,
Telco
operators).
37-39,5GHz
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Service
Purpose
Allocated
frequencies
Is there sufficient
spectrum? (Yes
or No) / Reason
for insufficient
spectrum
Spectrum
only
allocated to
Utilities?
(Yes or No)
Spectrum
licensed and
shared with
other users?
(Yes or No)
Spectrum shared
with other users
and no
requirement for a
licence? (Yes or
No)
Wide
area data
comms.
Automatic
meter reading
No
frequencies
are
allocated.
No.
No
-
-
Control of
smart meters
(e.g. switching
tariffs or
supplier at
specified
times)
Mobile
Radio
Currently
use 900
/1800MHz
(public
GSM)
No specific
broadband
spectrum for AMR
and Smart
Metering is
available for
utilities
Emergency
mobile radio
162-173
MHz
Yes
No
No
Yes
Worker safety
162-173
MHz
Yes
No
No
Yes
Table 2.1: Summary of current communications needs and spectrum
availability in Latvia
It will not be feasible to support country wide deployment of Smart Grids using the
existing narrow band point to multipoint radio communications due to the large
number of smart metering and LV / MV automation points (approximately 1 million)
that will require broadband point to multipoint communications. Spectrum estimates
undertaken by the utility company, Latvetnergo, indicate that around 20 MHz of
spectrum for broadband should be allocated to the utilities. Depending on the
application there will be different quality of service requirements in terms of latency,
availability and prioritisation. It is also noted the need for harmonised spectrum for
Smart Grids on a European wide basis that would lead to standardisation of the
required technology and equipment, support interoperability and prospective
equipment vendors and the outcome will be a cost effective technical solution.
In the table below there are specific examples of catastrophic failures that have
occurred in Latvia where the impact could potentially be avoided or reduced through
the deployment of Smart Grid communication networks.
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Date
Spectrum for Smart Grids
Geographic
Impact to
Impact to
location
customers
substations
(loss of
(failure)
Duration
supplies)
23 February 2008
Storm in West
Appr. 30 000
Appr. 2 800
After 2 days 700
and East regions
(of total appr.
(of total appr.
customers and
of Latvia
1 040 000)
23 000 LV/MV
80 MV
substations)
substations still
affected
14 July 2008
Storm in East
Appr. 4638
Appr. 450
region of Latvia
24 November 2008
Storm in all
full recovery
Appr. 25 000
No data
regions of Latvia
10 March 2009
Snowfall in
Appr. 3 days for
Appr. 3 days for
full recovery
Appr. 8 000
Appr. 700
central and
Appr. 2 days for
full recovery
South regions of
Latvia
19 July 2009
Storm in all
Appr. 20 000
No data
regions of Latvia
Appr. 3 days for
full recovery
Table 2.2: Examples of major events that led to significant power outages in
Latvia
2.1.3
Scotland
In Scotland (Scottish Power Energy Networks) currently use fixed point to point links
for voice communications between Grid control centres and strategic generation
sites and sub-stations as well as for backbone as part of the Strategic Telecom
Network supporting the control and monitoring of the grid. Frequency bands range
from 77.6 MHz and 140 MHz for low capacity links to 1.4 GHz for 2 Mbit/s links and
then the standard licensed frequency bands (6, 7, 13, 18 and 23 GHz) are used for
higher capacity links. Point to multipoint links operating in the 450 MHz band are
required for scanning telemetry and urban automation (SCADA).
The 77.6 MHz and 450 MHz bands are available across the UK and are managed
by the JRC7 on behalf of the fuel and power industries in the UK and all the other
frequency bands are licensed on a per link basis on a first come first served basis
by the regulator Ofcom.
Scottish Power Energy Networks consider there is sufficient spectrum currently.
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Joint Radio Company : http://www.jrc.co.uk/
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2.1.4
Spectrum for Smart Grids
Spain
Information has been provided by 3 utility organisations (Endesa, UFINET and
Iberdola).
Fixed point to point links are used to provide broadband access to electricity
premises such as primary and secondary substations and for backbone networks
where it is necessary to deploy radio repeaters. The main frequency bands that are
used include 1.5, 7/8, 15, 18 and 38 GHz but there are also the 4, 6, 10, 13 and 23
GHz bands. There is no specific frequency band reserved for the utilities. There is
difficulty in finding sufficient frequencies in congested areas especially where there
are multiple users of repeater sites. Also restrictions on the use of the different
bands has an impact for example some bands such as the 7/8 GHz bands are
designated for high capacity systems only and that does not match with
requirements for 2 x 2 Mbps.
Fixed point to multipoint is required to provide narrowband data connectivity to
“medium” voltage premises (e.g. transformer substations from MV to LV voltage
level). The available frequency bands are 167 – 171 MHz and 415 – 425 MHz and
they are reserved for the utilities. However there is insufficient bandwidth available
to connect all the necessary “points” in the grid network.
TETRA, trunked PAMR and PMR are used to control substations and support the
automation of services and provide mobile phones to support emergency and daily
operational communications. The frequency bands are 223 – 235 MHz and 450 –
470 MHz.
In considering the requirements of a Smart Grid for telemetering, the combined
requirements of the 3 utility companies are to connect by radiocommunications
261,000 medium voltage premises (transformer substations). It is estimated that the
connections should provide a minimum capacity of 100 kbps. In addition 25.6
million meters need to be connected at 0.1 kbps per meter. However it is likely that
connections for HV level (primary substations) will mainly be provided using fibre
except for specific locations where it is difficult to install fibre and radio will be
deployed instead. For telemetering it is not essential to ensure high availability as a
minimum connectivity one or two times a day is considered sufficient.
In addition there will be a need for services such as video surveillance and remote
control. The data needed for Network Automation services and network control
services is required in real time and requires a high level of communications
network availability.
In Spain in January 2009 the Klaus windstorm affected a wide geographic area in
Northern Spain. In Galicia 200 kms of the medium voltage network, 400 kms of the
low voltage network and 100 transformer centres and all the communications
equipment were severely damaged during the 3 day storm.
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3
KEY REQUIREMENTS
3.1
Cross Border
There are two issues that need to be considered:
 Interconnected power systems
 Implications of spectrum usage in neighbouring countries.
Increasingly there is integration of electricity markets and with interconnected
power systems it is difficult to partition the supply along the geographical borders
of, for example, the individual power stations. Therefore the reliability of supply is
not specific to an individual country and interruptions in any particular system may
have significant cross border impacts. It is recognised within the industry that
“satisfactory handling of reliability in interconnected systems calls for effective cross
border coordination, cooperation and communication among the system operators” 8
and this ideally requires a common approach to the implementation of
communications in support of Smart Grids. The figure below provides an indication
of how the high voltage grids may be interconnected now and in the future.
Key: Red – existing, Green – under construction, Blue - proposed
Figure 3.1: High Voltage DC interconnections in Western Europe
(Source: Wikipedia - Author J Messerly)
8
18
Source: Bergen SESSA Conference
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The use of common radio spectrum will reduce the risk of interference between
neighbouring countries’ Smart Grid communication networks. It also makes it
easier to co-ordinate frequency usage within border areas as it is expected that
similar technologies, or compatible technologies, will be deployed. GSM is an
example where common frequencies and standards have facilitated cross-border
co-ordination. However it has to be recognised that there could be significant
difficulties co-ordinating with countries that do not adopt a similar approach in their
use of the spectrum and it may be necessary to discuss and develop appropriate
cross border agreements on a country by country basis. This could prove more
difficult for those countries which have borders with non EU countries and ideally
bilateral discussions should be started as early as possible to understand any
possible constraints that might apply to potential frequency bands. Encouraging
harmonisation more widely to include non-EU CEPT countries could also be
beneficial.
3.2
Spectrum Requirements
3.2.1
Bandwidth requirements
At this stage it is not possible to define precisely how much spectrum will be
required to support Smart Grids but it is expected that it will be between 15 and 30
MHz9. It can be seen that there are a considerable number of additional locations
(e.g. LV and MV substations) that will require connecting into the communications
network compared with currently and there is already a shortage of suitable
spectrum for point to multipoint applications.
This figure of between 15 and 30 MHz is supported by a comparison undertaken by
the JRC in the UK. Using the Distribution Company (DNO) example shown in the
figure below there are 90,000 distribution substations at 11kV level, about 50% of
which the DNO says need to be under telecontrol in a Smart Grid scenario, i.e.
45,000. The JRC manages 48 UHF radio channels, each requiring 2 x 12.5 kHz,
which are used for SCADA in gas and electricity sectors and nominally 24 of these
channels are dedicated to electricity use. Within this 24x2x12.5 kHz (600 kHz) of
spectrum the same DNO currently reaches 1400 outstations. Therefore just using a
simple comparison as a first approximation the Smart Grid would require
[(600/1400) x 45,000] kHz, approximately 20 MHz. This assumes that
improvements in technologies will be cancelled out by the need to carry more data
especially if it is necessary to monitor profile data in real time.
9
See case study on Canada in Section 5 where extensive modelling was undertaken and it was
calculated that 30 MHz would be required to support the different applications.
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Note: Number of locations shown on right side of triangular block
Figure 3.2: Future control and monitoring needed for Smart Grids
3.2.2
Frequency bands
In technical terms the most appropriate frequency bands will depend on a number of
considerations including the required link lengths and the need to re-use
frequencies within a specific geographic area to minimise total bandwidth
requirements. One important consideration is the locations of the substations are
pre-determined as they already exist and they are rarely located optimally to support
radio links. Planning / environmental restrictions will not generally allow the use of
high towers to provide clear line of sight so it is necessary to compromise and use
frequencies that can operate over obstructed paths. That is the reason why the
utilities already have access in many European countries to spectrum in the range
415 to 465 MHz (e.g. in the UK 457.5 to 464 MHz is allocated to scanning
telemetry). However it is important to recognise that such links, with high diffraction
losses, can be vulnerable to interference from for example wind turbines and aircraft
and the availability can be severely impacted during fading and may mean they are
unsuitable for applications that require real time and very reliable communications.
In addition frequency bands below, for example 2 GHz can provide advantages in
terms of costs as it is possible to utilise yagi or grid antennas that reduce the
windloading on towers and also require less rigid structures because of their wider
antenna beamwidths.
Of course one of the main advantages of lower frequency bands is the ability to
achieve longer link lengths or coverage areas, but the disadvantage is the increased
risk for interference over a much larger geographic area. An example of the
difference in path lengths with frequency is shown in the figure below for a point to
point link:
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Figure 3.3: Variation in maximum link length with frequency
(Assumes: Transmitter powers of 0.25W, 1 W and 4W, 10 dBi antenna gain, QPSK modulation, 25 kHz
bandwidth, 10 m antenna heights)
The distances and coverage areas that can be achieved in practice will depend on
the technology that is deployed but clearly as the frequency increases the area
covered or the link distance will decrease if all other criteria remain the same.
3.3
Time Division Multiplex (TDD) or Frequency Division Multiplex
(FDD)?
There are a number of Smart Grid applications (e.g. teleprotection in case of
failures) that require low or very low latency and this might determine whether for
these instances FDD spectrum is required.
In the case of TDD a single frequency channel is used for both the uplink (UL) and
downlink (DL) but at different times. In practice TDD divides the data stream into
frames and within each frame there are a number of time slots assigned to the UL
and DL transmissions. Using dynamic bandwidth allows the amount of time slots
used for each direction of transmission to be varied and so it is not fixed to a ratio
(usually 50:50) as in the case of FDD. There is also no requirement for a guard
band to separate the UL and DL as they operate on the same frequency and
therefore it uses un-paired spectrum. However it is necessary to include a guard
period when switching from DL to UL for synchronisation purposes and to
accommodate the turnaround time and the round trip delay but it is negligible
compared with the total length of data in a time slot. The average TDD latency in a
PMP system (WiMAX) is 2 frames and the best case latency is about 1 frame.
However the latency will very much depend on the size of the frame that is used.
For example mobile WiMAX (802.16) may have a frame size of 5 ms for a single
downlink and uplink – this was the frame length that was used in initial equipment
but it can be varied between 2ms and 20 ms.
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For FDD a different unique frequency is assigned to both the transmitter and
receiver which means it is possible to transmit and receive at the same time. FDD
is ideal for symmetric traffic where there is an equal UL and DL capacity
requirement. The disadvantage of FDD is the need for a frequency guard band
between the UL and DL channels and it therefore requires paired spectrum. The
average latency in a point to multipoint FDD system is 1 frame and the best case
latency is about 0.5 frames.
The figure below shows the difference between FDD and TDD. Although the figure
appears to imply that the frame length is the same for FDD and TDD that is not the
case. In both TDD and FDD modes, the length of the frame can vary (under the
control of the BS scheduler) per frame and this allows effective allocation of on air
resources to meet the demands of the active connections with their granted QoS
properties. Also as already mentioned in the TDD mode, the division point between
uplink and downlink can also vary per frame, but there are restrictions on the
number of switching points, allowing asymmetric allocation of on air time between
uplink and downlink if required.:
Radio Frame
Down Link (DL)
f DL
FDD
f UL
f
Up Link (UL)
DL
DL / UL
switching point
UL
DL
UL
TDD
UL / DL
switching point
Figure 3.4: Comparison of FDD and TDD
In the case of very long distances in the case specifically of TDD it may be
necessary to take measures to overcome the propagation delay and maintain
synchronisation. However one of the reasons for TDD mobile WiMAX being the
preferred option was that it ensures channel reciprocity for better support of link
adaption, MIMO (multiple input, multiple output) and other closed-loop advanced
antenna techniques such as beam forming.
Finally it needs to be recognised that gaining access to FDD spectrum is likely to be
significantly more difficult and expensive than TDD. There is limited available paired
spectrum and it is easier to identify blocks of un-paired spectrum, especially if it is
possible to use a mix of frequency bands. FDD spectrum, especially in contiguous
blocks of 10 MHz and above, has historically attracted a significantly higher
commercial value. Therefore it is important to consider whether there are ways
around any latency issues – e.g. is it an issue in both directions of communications
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and is it possible to use techniques such a priority interrupt? However for those
applications where it is not possible to resolve the latency issue FDD spectrum will
be necessary.
3.4
Licensed or licence-exempt spectrum?
The advantage of licence –exempt spectrum is that it can be used without the need
for licences, so is low cost and can be used immediately providing the equipment
meets the minimum requirements specified for the frequency band. The operation
of equipment within the licence exempt spectrum is on a no interference, noprotection basis and there is no way of limiting the number of users to reduce the
risk of interference. However equipment may be required to deploy technologies,
such as frequency hopping spread spectrum, direct sequence spread spectrum and
“listen” before transmit, that minimise the mutual interference caused by multiple
devices operating in the same band with geographic overlap. The costs associated
with such technologies may offset some or all of the saving in licence fees. Also low
duty cycle provides significant interference mitigation but may not be an option for
more critical Smart Grid applications.
The majority of the applications associated with Smart Grids require high or very
high security and also high to very high reliability. For example it is essential that
data received on the distribution network is accurate if decisions are to be made on
how to distribute the available power to meet demands 24/7. Also the occurrence of
faults in the network need to be reported in real time and accurately to ensure the
required levels of reliability, quality and security of supply. It is therefore unlikely
that licence exempt spectrum will be a viable option except for smart metering
where a delay may be acceptable.
This means that there is a need for licensed spectrum for most applications to
ensure the interference environment can be effectively managed.
3.5
Dedicated or shared spectrum and networks
3.5.1
Shared networks
Severe weather tends to coincide with heavy demand on gas and electricity
networks and it is even more important at such times to ensure reliable
communications for critical reporting and control that can reduce outages through
enhanced network operation. However, during severe weather conditions it is likely
that there will be an increase of traffic across cellular networks for voice and data
calls and also for access to the internet to download relevant information (e.g. road
information and weather forecasts). It is therefore not an ideal solution to share
capacity on public networks, such as cellular, unless there is a means of prioritising
traffic and the operator is willing to implement such prioritisation. It will also be
necessary to ensure that the cellular network has the necessary resilience to
continue operation and that the loss of individual base stations has minimal impact.
In general we believe the cellular networks are not designed to meet the same
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requirements as mission critical networks. Therefore while public cellular networks
may be an appropriate solution for the less critical smart metering communications
they are unlikely to be suitable for other applications of the Smart Grid.
In Spain UNESA10 assessed the possibility of using prioritisation over GSM and
GPRS with very negative results and such an approach has therefore been
excluded. It should also be noted that the use of public networks to meet PPDR
(Public Protection and Disaster Recovery) requirements has been considered within
ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute) and a number of the
concerns identified would also be applicable to communications for Smart Grids and
are replicated below, namely:
 Security levels are likely to be insufficient except for routine operations. For
example the permitted level of “security” over the air to smart phones and
similar devices is limited to the restricted level
 Data is often sent at a lower priority level to voice so when there is a
significant use of voice services this might degrade the provision of data
services
 Redundancy requirements within the network such as cell sites, back-up
power supplies and backhaul connections to ensure continuity of service
are likely to be insufficient and networks are not designed to have
overlapping cell sites to provide additional resilience. Ideally utility
organisations would favour mesh networks.
Sharing networks with the PPDR sector, which is seeking access to additional
spectrum between 300 MHz and 790 MHz, is also unlikely to be a solution as during
incidents they will require priority access and some of these will occur during severe
weather conditions when utility services are also likely to be affected.
It is therefore concluded that dedicated networks are required for Smart Grids.
3.5.2
Shared spectrum
The other consideration is whether the spectrum should be shared or must be
dedicated to the Smart Grid communications. The options for sharing spectrum are
normally on a time or geographic basis. There have been proposals that the
emergency services could share spectrum on a pre-emptive basis11 - in normal
situations there will be spare spectrum that can be used by other networks /
services but in the case of an incident that spectrum is no longer available within a
restricted geographic area and the other users will have to cease operation. Such
an option might be suitable for Smart Grids as the significant capacity requirements
generally occur in the case of a failure in the network and during severe weather
10
UNESA is a joint organisation of Spanish utilities
11
WiK Aegis Study for Public Safety – “Safety First :Reinvesting the Digital Dividend in Safeguarding
Citizens”, May 2008
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conditions when it is necessary to react quickly to changes in demand. However
spectrum that can be used on a pre-emptible basis is likely to have limited value to
other commercial users, as their demand for spectrum is likely to be greater during
such conditions.
Sharing with the military may be an option and principles for sharing between
military and civil users were developed in CEPT over 10 years ago and based on:

Time sharing

Frequency separation

Geographical separation

Non-interference basis (NIB)
Geographic sharing can be a simple and effective solution as military requirements
in Europe are often limited to specific locations or times (e.g. training exercises) and
some military use is intended to be robust in harsh interference conditions. It works
well with professional users who can co-ordinate use with military (e.g. PMSE or
public safety).
There are initiatives to encourage the release or sharing of military spectrum so this
might be a possible option. In the UK an analysis of how radio spectrum is used
(Cave Report) identified 23 bands that are allocated to the military and suggested
that the military should pay market rates and be able to trade the spectrum. The
Ministry of Defence (MoD) subsequently published a consultation 12 titled “A
consultation: An implementation plan for reform” in May 2008. The consultation
includes an audit of the bands MoD uses, and continuing spectrum needs, and
identifies an initial set of frequencies to be made available for use by other parties.
The Commission commissioned a study into “Optimising the Use of the Radio
Spectrum by the Public Sector in the EU”, 13 which has been recently published, and
there is a RSPG Opinion14 on “Best practices regarding the use of spectrum by
some public sectors” in which it is noted that there have been “significant national
policy reviews concerning public sector spectrum” in the Netherlands and Sweden
as well as the UK.
Sharing with other licensed users of the spectrum is less likely except, for example,
in the case of fixed point to point links where each individual link can be assigned to
avoid interference into and from other existing links. This approach is already used
12
See: http://www.mod.uk/NR/rdonlyres/8B9CFFD1-6C36-476A-A6C3-
8A3E5635DC55/0/dsm_consultation_report.pdf
13
See:
http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/policy/ecomm/radio_spectrum/documents/studies/index_en.htm
14
See: http://rspg.groups.eu.int/_documents/documents/opinions/rspg09_258_rspgopinion_pus_final.pdf
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in terrestrial fixed link frequency bands but is not suitable for national coverage
mobile and point to multipoint applications.
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4
SPECTRUM
4.1
Introduction
Spectrum for Smart Grids
Based on inputs from the Energy companies there is a need for between 15 and 30
MHz of spectrum. It is likely to be extremely difficult to identify a contiguous
frequency band that will meet these requirements so one solution may be to identify
two or more separate bands that can collectively meet the communication needs of
a Smart Grid. Also due to significant demand for spectrum below 3 GHz it may not
be possible to harmonise all the spectrum so it may be necessary, especially
initially, to consider that different countries may use a mix of different frequencies
and that there will be a need for multi-band equipment. However it is important that
the necessary economies of scale can be achieved so different solutions for each
country would not be a viable option and the number of frequency bands needs to
be limited.
4.2
88 – 108 MHz
This band is a much longer term possibility as it is currently used for analogue radio
broadcasting (FM). Also allocations at ITU and European level are to broadcasting
only so it would be necessary to change them to also allow mobile and fixed
services. Such changes would need to be initiated at international and regional
level. However it is noted that in the draft Radio Spectrum Policy Group Work
Programme in the EU it is proposed that a data gathering exercise and analysis
should be undertaken of the spectrum usage situation by radio broadcasting
services. This mentions the importance of discussing the pros and cons of
indicating a target date for analogue radio broadcasting (FM) switch off and
assessing the efficient use of L band frequencies. Respondents to the draft have
noted the high utilisation of the FM band and comment on the difficulties of
migrating to digital radio broadcasting, take-up of which varies widely across
Europe.
4.3
230 - 380 MHz
The current allocations and applications according to the European Common
Allocation table are shown below:
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Frequency band
Allocations
Applications
230 – 240 MHz
MOBILE
T-DAB
Defence systems
240 – 322 MHz
MOBILE
Defence systems
335.4 – 380 MHz
MOBILE
Defence systems
Table 4.1: Allocations and applications in the 230 – 380 MHz band
There is no visibility as to whether it would be possible to release or share any of the
military spectrum on a European basis as 240 – 380 MHz is a core NATO band for
command, control and communication links and 10 MHz has already been released
for DAB. It is unlikely, at this stage, that those countries that are planning to use the
230 – 240 MHz band for T-DAB will change their plans.
4.4
380 – 470 MHz
ECC Report 102 was published in January 2007 and addressed the need for
spectrum to support Public Protection and Disaster Relief (PPDR). In the report it is
proposed to identify the band 380 - 470 MHz as a tuning range for wideband PPDR
and the sub-band 380 – 430 MHz was considered the most suitable taking into
account the technology available (e.g. TEDS). It is interesting to note that, at the
time, a review of the 400 MHz bands could not identify a single harmonised band of
2 x 1 MHz or more that could be made available amongst CEPT countries by the
date estimated for the deployment of these wideband systems.
The situation remains that it is extremely difficult to identify suitable spectrum for
new applications in this range due to the considerable fragmentation of use across
Europe. For example in the 406 – 430 MHz band while it is less used by military
the fragmented civil use is an issue for harmonisation in the EU as shown in the
figure below.
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Figure 4.1: Status of 406 – 430 MHz band in 2009 in EU countries
(Source: EFIS and National Frequency Allocation Tables (NFATs))
With ongoing migration from analogue to digital PMR and also from PMR to cellular
networks there may be the potential to release some spectrum but currently we
have not seen evidence of this happening. There are existing ECC Decisions that cover
the use of the spectrum for PMR and PAMR. ECC Decision (06)06, which has been
implanted by 21 administrations, identifies the frequency bands 406.1 – 410 MHz,
410 – 430 MHz, 440 – 450 MHz and 450 – 470 MHz for use by narrowband digital
land mobile PMR and PAMR. ECC Decision (04)06, implemented in 10 countries,
also identifies the band 410 – 430 MHz and 450 – 470 MHz for wideband digital
land mobile PMR and PAMR.
However in some countries there may be the potential, in the longer term, to gain
access to 450 MHz spectrum. In Europe a lot of countries used 450 MHz to provide
analogue mobile services using different standards such as Nordic Mobile
Telephone (NMT 450). In a number of countries, like Russia, CDMA 450 has since
been adopted as the digital mobile technology because it could utilise the limited
amount of spectrum available (typically 2 x 5 MHz) and also provided significant
benefits when providing coverage to rural and remote rural areas. In the medium to
longer term with the availability of 790 – 862 MHz spectrum offering more bandwidth
some operators may decide not to upgrade their CDMA 450 networks and the
spectrum may become available for other services.
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4.5
Spectrum for Smart Grids
470 – 862 MHz
There may be the potential to utilise part of the current TV spectrum between 470
and 862 MHz that becomes available following analogue switchover and there are
three possible options:
 Digital dividend spectrum between 790 and 862 MHz that has already been
identified internationally for non-broadcast use
 Spectrum blocks may become available nationally due to the reduced
requirement for frequencies arising from the increased spectrum efficiency
of Digital TV, such as the UK’s planned release of channels 31 – 37 (550606 MHz).
 Spectrum may become available on a limited geographic basis that is not
used by local TV transmitters (sometimes referred to as “white spaces”).
These options are discussed further in the following sections. In the Annex we
specifically consider the potential to gain access to this spectrum.
4.5.1
Digital Dividend
4.5.1.1
Introduction
The Digital Dividend refers to the portion of the radio spectrum which will become
available as analogue terrestrial broadcast television migrates to digital systems
(DTV). These frequencies can be utilised by any number of services due to their
excellent technical and propagation characteristics. In Europe the aim is to release
790 – 862 MHz, also known as the 800 MHz band, for deployment by non
broadcasting services. There has been significant interest by both cellular and
public safety services to gain access to digital dividend spectrum.
The European Commission recommended in October 2009 that the use of the
digital dividend should be harmonised and has indicated that it should be used for
mobile services in all member states. It was reported in December 2009 that “The
EU Telecoms Council has invited Brussels to produce a technical plan for
harmonising the use of mobile services in 790 – 862 MHz but emphasised the right
of Member States to use the band as they see fit” 15.
4.5.1.2
Potential for access to 800 MHz spectrum
At the 2007 World Radio Conference (WRC-07) the 800 MHz band was allocated on
a co-primary basis to the mobile service from 2015 in addition to the existing
broadcasting and fixed services. Some European countries have already included
footnotes in the Radio Regulations which would allow them to use this band for
mobile services before 2015 and a number have already made decisions to award
the spectrum for mobile communications. For example Switzerland decided in
November 2009 to allocate the band to mobile communication services, in Germany
15
30
Policy Tracker, December 2009
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it is planned to auction the spectrum in 2010, in Finland it has been available for
broadband mobile systems since July 2008 and in France it was expected that it
would be available for mobile communications from the end of November 2011.
While a number of countries have not yet reached a decision there is clearly a
significant number that will award the spectrum to support the roll-out of broadband
mobile radio. The European Council Conclusions on “Transforming the digital
dividend into social benefits and economic growth” 16 recognises, amongst other
points:
“The importance of the digital dividend to help bridging the digital divide and
providing high speed broadband services in rural areas” and
“That access to the so called 800 MHz band (790-862 MHz) will greatly facilitate
broadband service delivery throughout the EU, thereby enhancing the single market,
and constituting a key element for productivity and competitiveness in the broader
economy and thus a key driver for economic recovery”.
In the First draft of a Commission Decision on the 800 MHz band, which contains a
proposal for the Commission Decision on harmonised conditions of use in the 790 –
862 MHz frequency band for terrestrial systems capable of providing electronic
communications services in the Community there is also mention of the possible
use of the band for public sector and public security purposes in some Member
States17.
4.5.1.3
Guard band
The preferred harmonised channel plan for the 790 – 862 MHz band18 is shown in
the figure below and is based on 2 x 30 MHz with a duplex gap of 11 MHz.
791796
796801
801806
806811
811816
816821
821 - 832
832837
837842
842847
847852
852857
Downlink
Duplex
gap
Uplink
30 MHz (6 blocks of 5 MHz)
11 MHz
30 MHz (6 blocks of 5 MHz)
857862
Figure 4.2: Preferred FDD harmonised channel plan
Decides 5 of the ECC Decision (ECC/DEC/(09)03) mentions that “administrations
wishing to implement low power applications and PMSE 19 in the centre gap of the
16
http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/trans/112001.pdf
17
“Member States may decide individually whether and at what point in time they designate or make
available the 800 MHz band for networks, and this Decision is without prejudice to the use of the 800
MHz band for public order and public security purposes in some Member States”.
18
ECC/DEC/(09)03: “Harmonised conditions for mobile/fixed communications networks (MFCN)
operating in the 790 – 862 MHz band”.
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FDD …. shall adopt the common and minimal (least restrictive) technical conditions
specified in Annex 3 to this Decision”.
It is likely that many countries will want to deploy PMSE in the centre gap because
of the reduced availability of spectrum for this application. Detailed sharing studies
would need to be undertaken if any use other than PMSE and low power
applications are proposed and at this stage it is not clear whether there would be
sufficient spectrum, when allowing for suitable guard bands, to meet the needs of
Smart Grids.
4.5.2
Spectrum between 470 and 790 MHz
There may be the potential for some countries to release further spectrum than the
790 – 862 MHz. This might be achieved by the introduction of more spectrally
efficient digital broadcasting technologies20 which can reduce the number of
Multiplexes required to support the required national, regional and in some cases
local TV programmes or there might be the possibility to modify the digital plan
slightly to release frequencies.
In a number of countries (e.g. Spain, Portugal and Belgium) there is already a need
to revisit their digital TV plans if they are to release the 790 – 862 MHz band. It
might also provide the opportunity to explore the potential to release frequencies,
within a pre-determined range, between 470 and 790 MHz. For example it might be
possible to consider the possibility of releasing 2, or ideally 3, 8 MHz TV channels
between channels 28 and 38 (526 – 614 MHz) which while it does not provide a
singe harmonised frequency band does provide a single harmonised tuning range
for equipment. It would of course be necessary to ensure that a feasible tuning
range is specified taking into account antenna etc characteristics and based on the
example of specifying a tuning range of 380 – 470 MHz for PPDR, see Section 4.4,
around 90 MHz should be a viable option.
For example in the UK it is proposed to clear further channels beyond 790 – 862
MHz as shown in the figure below:
19
Programme Making and Special Events
20
DVB-T with MPEG-2 coding can typically support 1 high definition TV programme or 2 to 3 standard
definition programmes. MPEG-4 coding is approximately 2 times more efficient than MPEG-2 and can
allow more programmes to be carried on a single 8 MHz channel. The use of DVB-T2, an upgrade to the
DVB-T standard, could increase the data capacity of a single channel by as much as 50%.
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Chs 61 - 69
606 MHz
Chs 21 - 30
470 MHz
Chs 31 - 37
38
Chs 39 - 60
550 MHz
614 MHz
Broadcasting
PMSE
Further cleared spectrum
790 – 862 MHz digital dividend
790 MHz
Figure 4.3: Proposed additional
This would be achieved by modifying the current digital TV plan and would require
discussions with neighbouring countries, including France and Ireland, to agree
some changes to the existing international agreements relating to the use of the
spectrum in UHF Bands IV and V (470-862 MHz). Ofcom is currently consulting on
the potential uses of this band and other locally available “interleaved” spectrum 21
However in the case of release of spectrum between 470 and 790 MHz the issue of
potential cross-border interference will need to be considered if different
frequencies, within the tuning range, are made available in adjacent countries
especially with the deployment of high power broadcasting transmitters.
4.5.3
White Spaces and Interleaved Spectrum
One approach that is being considered currently is to deploy wireless
communication networks within the UHF TV broadcast band (470 – 790 MHz), using
frequencies that are not used by local TV transmitters. These locally unused
frequencies are often referred to as the “white spaces” between the active TV
transmission frequencies.
The concept of using “white spaces” within the TV broadcast bands first attracted
interest in the US as a means of providing cost effective wireless access in rural
areas, and it is the US that continues to dominate research in this area. This
concept is referred to as “Wireless Regional Area Networks” or WRANs, typified by
coverage ranges of 5 km or more and transmitter radiated powers of several watts.
Such powers and coverage areas are only likely to be feasible where there is
substantial geographic separation between co-channel TV transmitters.
In Europe, the UHF frequencies are used much more intensively for TV
transmission and therefore utilisation of “white spaces” will be limited. However
such spectrum could be attractive for fixed or geographically localised applications
which can be co-ordinated with the TV stations. It would however require
equipment that can tune across the frequency range 470 – 790 MHz to take
advantage of available frequencies in all countries. Also, due to problems of
21
“Digital dividend: 600 MHz band and geographic interleaved spectrum Consultation on potential uses”,
http://www.ofcom.org.uk/consult/condocs/600mhz_geographic/600condoc.pdf
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anomalous propagation there is the potential for interference from distant
transmitters and this may limit the suitability for critical applications.
There is also interest in using the “white space” spectrum for services ancillary to
broadcasting, such as wireless microphones on a licensed basis and also to allow
licence exempt services. In the case of the latter it will necessary to have some way
of identifying and avoiding frequencies that are being used for TV transmission or
other licensed use. There are essentially two ways in which this can be done,
namely to refer to a geographic database of TV transmitters and other licensed
users and choose a locally unused frequency, or to deploy technology that can
detect and avoid frequencies that are already in use. In the US there is strong
interest in the use of “cognitive” radio technologies to facilitate access to white
space frequencies. These technologies detect which frequencies are in use for TV
transmission at a particular location and use the remaining frequencies for relatively
low power transmissions that could be used for fixed or mobile wireless applications.
One cognitive approach relies on physical monitoring of the spectrum to detect
whether a broadcast signal is present at a particular location and so allows an
alternative frequency to be deployed. This requires a highly sensitive receiver to
detect the presence of TV broadcasts and is susceptible to the “hidden node” effect,
where the cognitive device is shielded from the broadcast transmitter (therefore fails
to detect the broadcast signal) but is not shielded from the TV receive aerial and so
could cause interference to TV reception.
wanted broadcast signal
Interfering
signal
detection of broadcast
signal blocked by obstruction
Figure 4.4: Illustration of “hidden node” scenario with cognitive radio device
To overcome the hidden node problem it is necessary to factor in a significant
additional margin to cover the additional attenuation of the broadcast signal at the
cognitive device. The alternative approach is to use location information but this
requires the use of GPS or alternative techniques such as triangulation.
Work is underway in the 802.22 working group to address co-existence between
these different network types and with the licensed primary users of the spectrum
(TV broadcasting and wireless microphones). Various co-existence mechanisms
including DFS, TPC, listen before talk, TDMA, and Message-based Spectrum
Contention are under consideration.
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“Interleaved spectrum” refers to TV channels that under current plans will be unused
over substantial geographic areas and could therefore be used in these areas for
other licensed services rather than the low power, licence-exempt applications that
are envisaged for white space frequencies. As noted above, at the time of writing
Ofcom was consulting on the potential future uses of this interleaved spectrum.
4.6
870 – 876 paired with 915 – 921 MHz
ECC Decision (ECC/DEC/(04)06) of 19 March 2004, “on the availability of frequency
bands for the introduction of Wide Band Digital Land Mobile PMR/PAMR in the 400
MHz and 800/900 MHz bands” was amended in June 2008 to include an extension
to the GSM-R frequencies (E-GSM-R): 918 – 921 MHz paired with 873 – 876 MHz.
In parallel the ECC Decision (ECC/DEC/(02)05) “on the designation and availability
of frequency bands for railway purposes in the 876 – 880 MHz and 921 – 925 MHz
bands” was amended to include “the possibility of a GSM-R extension, on a national
basis, into the bands 873 – 876 MHz and 918 – 921 MHz”.
Germany is reported as having already included E-GSM-R in their national
frequency plan and licensed the railway operator. It is expected that E-GSM-R will
be used in some countries on high speed railway tracks as well as areas of high
usage such as shunting and urban areas22. In those countries where E-GSM-R is
implemented it means there would be limited spectrum available for wide band PMR
and it is expected that GSM-R technology in Europe will be in operation beyond
2020 / 202523.
In summer 2008 ETSI sent ECC a system reference document - SRDoc (ETSI TR
102 649-2) - requesting the designation of additional spectrum for UHF RFIDs and
SRDs. The proposal was to use the band 915 – 921 MHz24 for RFIDs at 4W e.r.p.
and spectrum above 870 MHz to meet the growing spectrum requirements of
SRDs25. The ECC has been conducting a number of evaluations before deciding
whether to support the ETSI proposal. In annex D of the Technical Report (TR)
there is a letter from TC TETRA to ERM26 explaining why TETRA has not been
deployed in the frequency band since it was made available through ERC Decision
(96)04 and saying they had no comments on the draft of the TR.
22
Source: ETSI TOR STF UF (ERM/TG34)
23
Source: ETSI TOR STF UG (TC RT / TG EGSM-R)
24
It was argued that “The major trading nations operate within the band 902 – 930 MHz” and so “RFID
tags are optimised for these frequencies”.
25
It was proposed that “To support the principles of flexible-generic spectrum and technology neutrality
for SRDs at UHF, a tuning range in the order of 20 MHz centred close to 870 MHz would be possible”.
26
ETSI ERM is a horizontal technical committee covering radio and EMC matters. ERM stands for EMC
and Radio Spectrum Matters.
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There is currently a Work Item in ETSI to revise the TR to take account of more
recent developments27. No decision has been made in WG FM on this proposal.
There is some interest from smart metering in the 865 MHz band.
In the UK Ofcom issued a “Consultation on way forward for the future use of the
band 872 – 876 MHz paired with 917 – 921 MHz”28 in August 2009 and it noted in
the Executive Summary: “We consider that the use of the band for applications such
as SRD / RFID is feasible under a light regulatory approach, it should be possible to
adopt a licence exempt approach for SRDs. But potential interference into
GSM900, GSM-R and UMTS900 base stations from RFID devices may be a factor
to be taken account of when deciding whether RFIDs should be licence exempt or
light licensed”.
4.7
1452 – 1492 MHz
The 1452 – 1492 MHz band, also referred to as the L Band, is allocated to the
services shown in the table below. Those shown in capitals are the primary
services and those in lower case the secondary ones. Secondary services are not
afforded protection from the primary services with whom they must also not
interfere:
ITU – Region 1
European Common
European Common
Allocation Table
Allocation Table
(Allocations)
(Applications)
BROADCASTING
Broadcasting (terrestrial)
BROADCASTING
BROADCASTING –
T-DAB
BROADCASTING –
SATELLITE
SATELLITE
Fixed
FIXED
Mobile except
MOBILE EXCEPT
aeronautical mobile
AERONAUTICAL
MOBILE
Table 4.2: Allocations for 1452 – 1492 MHz band
27
Tests have shown it is feasible for RFID and E-GSM-R to co-exist and the terms of reference for a
study to examine “Methods, parameters and test procedures for cognitive interference mitigation for use
by UHF RFID using Detect-And-Avoid (DAA) or other similar techniques” were developed in 2009. The
intention is for a specialist task force to identify ways of facilitating sharing with GSM-R so that additional
spectrum can be allocated to RFID. One option proposed is to use intelligent detect-and-avoid (DAA) or
other equivalent cognitive techniques and another is to minimise the use of the 2 upper proposed UHF
RF channels above 918 MHz.
28
36
See http://www.ofcom.org.uk/consult/condocs/872_876_mhz/summary/
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The 1452 – 1492 MHz band was originally allocated to the fixed and mobile services
but at the World Administrative Radio Conference in 1992 (WARC-92) allocations to
broadcasting and broadcasting –satellite services were added specifically for digital
audio broadcasting.
In Europe the band 1452 – 1479.5 MHz was identified to provide T-DAB (terrestrial
digital audio broadcasting) and the Maastricht 2002 Special Arrangement provides
an allotment plan for the band and defines how international interference will be coordinated. The plan divides the 27.5 MHz of spectrum into 16 blocks that are
roughly 1.7 MHz in size and each block can be used in specific geographic areas of
a country.
The 1479.5 – 1492 MHz band has been designated for satellite digital audio
broadcasting in Europe according to ECC/DEC/(03)02. There are 28 out of 48
countries that have definitely implemented the decision. The decision came into
force on 17 October 2003 and will be reviewed on the basis of market demand at
least 10 years after that date by the CEPT. At the time of the UK consultation on
the award of the 1452 – 1492 MHz band it was noted that there were a considerable
number of filings (around 120) for the band at an advanced publication stage and
concluded that terrestrial use of the top 12.5 MHz band was likely to be severely
constrained.
The Radio Spectrum Policy Group developed an Opinion on “The Introduction of
Multimedia Services in particular frequency bands allocated to the broadcasting
services” (RSPG Opinion # 5, 25 October 2006) and noted that in the case of the
1452 – 1492 MHz band there was some licensed T-DAB use but very limited and
that there were restrictions from other countries outside the EU that might limit the
possible use in some Member States. The possibility of Europe-wide availability of
common spectrum for the introduction of multi media services (including electronic
communication services other than broadcasting) was considered high at the time29.
The 1452 – 1492 MHz band is not the only one available for the deployment of
digital audio broadcasting as in a number of countries it is being rolled-out in Band
III (174 – 220 MHz). In the UK, which has actively promoted DAB, it was decided to
auction in 2008 the 1452 – 1492 MHz band on a technology and service neutral
basis. Qualcomm were the winning bidder, at a price of £8.5 million, and the licence
was tradable. As far as we are aware Qualcomm has not yet deployed a network in
this band although it was expected, at the time, that they would deploy their
proprietary mobile TV technology MediaFLO. In other countries such as the
Netherlands and Norway where the spectrum is available for licensing for digital
broadcasting there have not yet been any applicants according to the information
29
Also in the previous RSPG Opinion on spectrum for WAPECS (Wireless Access Platforms for
Electronic Communications Services), November 23, 2005, the In the Radio Spectrum Policy Group
Opinion on Wireless Access Platforms for Electronic Communication Services (WAPECS)29 the 1452 –
1479.5 MHz band was identified as potentially being suitable for WAPECS.
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available on their NRA web-sites. As far as we can ascertain France is the main
country which has used the 1452 – 1492 MHz band to implement T-DAB.
Usage of the band for Smart Grid communications might be restricted, and subject
to interference, at borders depending on usage in neighbouring countries especially
as fixed and mobile are only secondary allocations in the European Common
Allocation table. The Maastricht 2002, Special Arrangement, was revised in
Constanta in 2007 (MA02revC007) and sets down the basic characteristics of TDAB allotments, which may be used for terrestrial multimedia services, and has
established the sharing criteria for T-DAB versus other services. The use by the
Russian Federation of the band for aeronautical telemetry services will probably
constrain the use of the spectrum in North-East European countries. The CEPT has
also been considering the potential of sub-bands which could be used by PMSE
equipment such as 1452 – 1477.5 MHz but in CEPT Report 32 (see section 4.9
below) it was recognised that “it may be difficult to identify a band available in the
whole CEPT and administrations may have to decide which part of the L band is
available on a national basis”.
4.8
1670 – 1675 MHz
At the World Radio Conference in 2003 (WRC-03) it was decided to allocate the
bands 1518 -1525 MHz and 1668 – 1675 MHz to the mobile satellite service on a
primary basis. ECC Decision ECC/DEC(04)09, amended on 26 June 2009,
designates the bands 1518 – 1525 MHz and 1670 – 1675 MHz for systems in the
Mobile-Satellite Service, with 1670 – 1675 MHz being the up-link band (earth to
space). Since the World Radio Conference, in the period 2003 – 2010, there have
been 586 filings for geo-stationary satellites and 18 for non geo-stationary satellites
including ones from Arabsat and Inmarsat. It is therefore expected that this band
will not be suitable for Smart Grid communications.
4.9
1785 – 1805 MHz
In CEPT Report 3230, 30 October 2009, which was developed in response to the
European Commission Mandate on “Technical considerations regarding
harmonisation options for the digital dividend in the European Union” it notes that
according to Annex 10 to ERC/REC 70-03 and ERC/REC 25-10 the band 1785 –
1800 MHz may be available for PMSE (Program Making and Special Events). In
the band 1785 – 1795 MHz individual licences are required but the band 1795 –
1800 MHz may be used on an unlicensed basis. It is also noted that there has been
no use of the band by PMSE but there is some equipment available now. Also the
1785 – 1800 MHz band is used in some countries for other applications such as
30
“Recommendation on the best approach to ensure the continuation of existing Program Making Special
Events (PMSE) services operating in the UHF (470 – 862 MHz) including assessment of the advantage
of an EU-level approach”.
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governmental and is also being considered for the deployment of WAPECS
systems.
The 1800 – 1805 MHz band is being considered for the deployment of professional
radio microphones.
The table below shows the allocations according to the European Allocation Table
and also the ITU Radio Regulations for Region 1:
ITU – Region 1
Frequency
European Common
European Common
band
Allocation Table
Allocation Table
(Allocations)
(Applications)
FIXED
IMT-2000 / UMTS
FIXED
MOBILE
Radio microphones
MOBILE
1785 – 1800
MHz
and assistive
listening devices
1800 – 1805
MHz
Fixed
IMT-2000 / UMTS
MOBILE
FIXED
MOBILE
Table 4.3: Allocations for 1785 – 1805 MHz band
There might be the possibility to use those bands that are made available on a
national basis for WAPECS for Smart Grid communications.
4.10
1710 – 1880 MHz
In Canada it has already been decided to allocate 1800 – 1830 MHz to Smart Grids
and in the US there are proposals to harmonise with Canada. In Europe the
spectrum 1710 – 1785 paired with 1805 – 1880 MHz was identified as the band to
be used for the introduction of DCS 1800 networks in ERC/DEC/(95)03 and the
applications now listed in the European Common Allocation Table are GSM and
IMT-2000 / UMTS.
The spectrum is now widely used by GSM networks across Europe. However it is
interesting to note that according to publicly available information there are a
number of countries that have frequencies in the 1800 MHz band that are not
licensed as shown in the figure below.
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Figure 4.5: Not licensed spectrum in the 1800 MHz band.
(Source Aegis Systems Ltd)
The amount of spectrum is 2 x the value shown so for example in Turkey there is 2
x 45 MHz available.
There are also a number of operators that have access to more than 2 x 20 MHz of
1800 MHz spectrum, but that may mean they have less or no 900 MHz spectrum31.
The figure below shows some examples:
31
It will probably become an issue of total spectrum holdings per operator if any 1800 MHz spectrum is to
be released.
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Figure 4.6: Operators with more than 2 x 20 MHz of GSM 1800 MHz spectrum
in a country
In some cases there is more than one entry per country and that is because there is
more than one operator with more than 2 x 20 MHz of spectrum. For example in the
UK T-Mobile and Orange each has 2 x 30 MHz. There is also the possibility for
further market consolidation with the number of competing network operators
reducing and so providing the potential to release some spectrum – again T-Mobile
and Orange are an example of this scenario with the merger being agreed on the
basis that 2 x 15 MHz of the 1800 MHz spectrum is handed back..
At the moment with many administrations considering the issues of licence renewal /
re-award of 900 and 1800 MHz frequencies, and spectrum liberalisation 32 there may
be the potential to release some paired spectrum for Smart Grids. However with the
pressure on cellular operators to support the rapidly increasing demand for
broadband mobile services any reduction in spectrum is likely to be strongly
32
Spectrum liberalisation is where the operators can now deploy technologies other than GSM. To
ensure equitable access to spectrum administrations are in a number of countries looking to licence
spare frequencies and in some countries to re-award spectrum through competitive processes.
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contested but there may still be the potential with spectrum becoming available in
lower bands to release some bandwidth .
4.11
2025 – 2110 MHz and 2200 – 2290 MHz
The frequency bands 2.025 – 2.11 GHz and 2.2 – 2.29 GHz may offer a possible
solution to providing limited spectrum for mission critical applications. The table
below provides information on the use of the bands according to EFIS 33:
Frequency band
Allocations
Applications
2.025 – 2.11 GHz
EARTH EXPLORATION
Defence Systems
SATELLITE (E-S) (S-E)
FIXED
Fixed Links
SAP/SAB telecommand
MOBILE
Space Research
SPACE OPERATION (E-S)
(S-S)
SPACE RESEARCH (E-S)
(S-S)
2.2 – 2.29 GHz
EARTH EXPLORATION
SATELLITE (S-E) (S-S)
FIXED
Fixed links
SAP/SAB & ENG OB
Space Research
MOBILE
Continuim measurements
SPACE OPERATION (S -E)
VLBI observation
(S-S)
SPACE RESEARCH (S-E)
(S-S)
Table 4.4: Usage of part of 2 GHz frequency band according to the European
Allocation Table
During WARC ‘9234 the space community were concerned that the bands should not
be used for high density mobile or fixed applications but were willing for them to be
used for low density applications such as rural wireless local loop (WLL). In the
Radio Regulations there is a footnote 5.391 for these two bands which states that:
In making assignments in the mobile service in the bands administrations shall not
introduce high density mobile systems as described in Rec. 1154 and shall take that
Rec into account for the introduction of any other type of mobile system.
42
33
ERO Frequency Information System: www.efis.dk
34
World Annual Radio Conference
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The footnote does not apply to the fixed allocation but at the time the main
emphasis was on identifying further spectrum for Mobile services. Mission critical
communications would probably not constitute a high density network, under the
terms of this footnote, whereas smart metering applications almost certainly would
(although as previously noted this can be effectively accommodated in existing
shared bands or over public networks).
4.12
2300 – 2400 MHz
The band 2300 – 2400 MHz was identified at WRC-07 for IMT and in the Radio
Regulations the footnote (5.284A) says “The bands, or portions of the bands 1710 –
1885 MHz, 2300 – 2400 MHz and 2500 – 2690 MHz, are identified for use by
administrations wishing to implement International Mobile Telecommunications
(IMT) in accordance with Resolution 223 (Rev. WRC-07). This identification does
not preclude the use of these bands by any application of the services to which they
are allocated and does not establish priority in the Radio Regulations (WRC-07)”.
The band is allocated in the European Common Allocation table to Fixed and Mobile
as primary services with Amateur and Radiolocation as secondary services. There
are two harmonised standards for the band – EN 301 783-2 for amateur and EN 302
064-2 for SAP/SAB35 point to point video links. It appears that there is mixed use of
the band, mainly for military, PMSE and amateur, and in some countries there may
be very little or no use of the spectrum. The figure below provides some information
on the use of the band in EU countries:
35
Services ancillary to programme making / broadcasting
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Figure 4.7: Status of 2300 – 2400 MHz band in 2009 in EU countries
(Source EFIS and NFATs)
In Norway a single national, technology neutral and tradable licence in the band
2301 to 2323 MHz was awarded by auction in 2006. The winning bidder NextGen
Tel AS was planning to deploy WiMAX. However in the UK the band is used by
Defence for data, video and telemetry links and there appears to be no possibility to
release spectrum on a national basis but overall there appears to be significant
potential for a geographic release or sharing of spectrum in this band as peaks of
MOD demand are centred around a few specific locations36.
In Ireland ComReg (the Irish administration) issued a consultative document (09/49)
on the potential release of the 2300 – 2400 MHz band. The reason for consulting
on the release of the band was because it is only used “to a limited extent and in a
small number of geographic areas” and it “can greatly facilitate the deployment of
new and innovative technologies and services”. Document 09/7637 provides
ComReg’s proposed options and licence conditions based on the responses
36
See: Ministry of Defence Final Report: “Defence Demand for Spectrum: 2008 – 2027” at
http://www.mod.uk/NR/rdonlyres/733C18ED-A59B-4282-BA6698693FF0D29E/0/spectrum2008_2027.pdf
37
44
See: http://www.comreg.ie/_fileupload/publications/ComReg0976.pdf
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received. Stakeholders were concerned that the 2300 – 2400 MHz spectrum should
not be released in advance of standardisation of the band by the European
Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI). This standardisation work is being
undertaken in the ETSI group Broadband Radio Access Networks (‘BRAN’) and
ETSI plans to publish the System Reference Document for broadband wireless
systems in the frequency range 2300 MHz to 2400 MHz in early 2010. ComReg
plan to reflect the outcome in a second (final) consultation on the frequency band.
ComReg has also decided that “the most appropriate licence types and
combinations for this spectrum band are National, Local and possibly Closed User
Group licences. However, ComReg must give further consideration as to how Local
Area and Closed User Group licences can be best implemented in the band”.
There is WiMAX equipment already available for this frequency band and there
have been both TDD and FDD deployments (for example in Canada the 2305 –
2320 and 2345 – 2360 MHz bands were available for either TDD or FDD).
4.13
2500 – 2690 MHz
At the World Radio Conference in 2000 (WRC-2000) the band 2500 – 2690 MHz
was identified on a global basis for use by those administrations wishing to
implement International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 (IMT-2000)38 in
accordance with Resolution 223 (WRC-2000). However, ITU-R also clarified that
this identification does not preclude the use of these bands by any other
applications of the services to which they are allocated and does not establish
priority in the Radio Regulations (see RR 5.384A).
In Europe the CEPT developed ECC/DEC/(02)06 on the designation of the band
2500 – 2690 MHz for UMTS/IMT-2000 and decides “that the frequency band 2500 –
2690 MHz should be made available for use by UMTS/IMT-2000 systems by 1
January 2008, subject to market demand and national licensing schemes”. This
was followed by ECC/DEC/(05)05 which decides on a specific harmonised spectrum
arrangement shown in the figure below:
TDD or
FDD Downlink
FDD Uplink Blocks
2500 MHz
2570 MHz
FDD Downlink Blocks
2620 MHz
2690 MHz
Figure 4.8: Harmonised spectrum arrangement for 2500 – 2690 MHz band
On 2 April 2008 the Radio Spectrum Committee of the European Commission
(RSC) unanimously agreed the text of a Decision on harmonised use of the 2.6GHz
band (“the RSC Decision”). The RSC Decision requires Members States to
designate the 2.6 GHz band within 6 months of the Decision’s entry into force and
38
As a result of the decisions of the WRC07 the identification for IMT-2000 has been changed to IMT.
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subsequently make it available on a non-exclusive basis for terrestrial systems
capable of providing electronic communications services, subject to a number of
technical parameters relating to harmful interference.
Spectrum has been awarded in Norway, Sweden and Finland and there are a
number of countries planning to auction spectrum in 2010 (e.g. Denmark, Germany,
Ireland and the Netherlands). It is interesting to note that in the Finnish auction that
finished on 23 November 2009 the TDD spectrum attracted more per MHz than the
FDD, which is unusual, but is probably because there were three bidders for the
three paired blocks and two bidders for the single TDD block. Therefore the
outcome may not be a reliable indicator of the true value of the spectrum.
4.14
3400 – 3800 MHz
The 3400 – 3800 MHz band is harmonised for wireless broadband electronic
communication services by the Commission (EC) Decision 2008/411/EC 39. The
European Commission had previously mandated the CEPT to identify the conditions
that would allow the use of the spectrum for Broadband Wireless Access (BWA).
The output was CEPT Report 15 which concluded that it was feasible to deploy
fixed, nomadic and mobile networks in the 3400 – 3800 MHz bands under the
technical conditions described in ECC Decision ECC/DEC/(07)02 and
Recommendation ECC/REC/(04)05.
The EC Decision required that no later than 6 months after the Decision came into
force Member States should designate and make available, on a non-exclusive
basis, the 3400 – 3600 MHz band. It also requires the 3600 – 3800 MHz band to be
made available by 1 January 2012.
The 3400 – 4200 MHz frequency band (C-Band) is also used for satellite operations
and it will be necessary to co-ordinate the use of the spectrum for broadband
wireless access with the satellite earth stations. The 3600 – 4200 MHz band is also
a fixed point to point band and used for high capacity links in a number of countries.
The 3400 – 3800 MHz spectrum can be used by WiMAX technology (fixed, nomadic
and mobile) in a number of European countries and there are TDD and FDD
products already available for the band. For example the figure below shows those
countries where local regulatory conditions permit the use of WiMAX in the 3400 3600 MHz band, according to the WiMAX Forum:
39
Commission Decision of 21 May 2008 on the harmonisation of the 3400 – 3800 MHz frequency band
for terrestrial systems capable of providing electronic communications services in the Community. See
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2008:144:0077:0081:EN:PDF
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Figure 4.9: European countries where WiMAX can be deployed in 3400 – 3600
MHz band
(Source: Map obtained from WiMAX Forum frequency band chart information)
However in a number of countries, Estonia, Italy, Norway, Spain and Sweden all the
3400 – 3600 MHz spectrum has already been awarded 40. For example in 2004 the
band was auctioned in paired 3.5 MHz blocks in Norway and the figure below shows
the outcome. In the UK most of the band is managed by the military, but it is
identified for future release, and there is a consultation on spectrum access at
http://www.ofcom.org.uk/consult/condocs/3_4ghz/.
40
Source: WiMAX Forum
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Figure 4.10: Outcome of Norwegian auction for 3.5 GHz band
(Source: Norwegian Post and Telecommunications Authority www.npt.no/ )
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MARKET CONSIDERATIONS
The ideal outcome would be for the European Commission to identify spectrum, by
a Commission Decision, that is specifically identified for use by Utility Organisations
for Smart Grids. This would be similar to the approach adopted in Canada where
the band 1800 – 1830 MHz is identified for radio systems for the operations,
maintenance and management of the electrical supply. It is difficult to predict
whether this will be possible in Europe with the different competing demands for
spectrum, especially in frequency bands below 3 GHz. It is therefore important,
when identifying possible spectrum to take account of:
 What would happen if the spectrum was awarded through a competitive
process such as an auction?
 What might be the potential for economies of scale?
5.1
Auctions
It is almost a decade since the first European spectrum auctions were held with the
first two high profile auctions held in the UK and Germany. We are seeing an
increasing number of administrations using auctions to award spectrum where
demand exceeds supply as they are seen as being transparent, proportionate and
non-discriminatory and less liable to legal challenge. For example countries such as
Finland41 that have in the past favoured other competitive processes (so-called
beauty contests) are now using auctions. The spectrum can be awarded on a
technology and service neutral basis and the market will decide, based on price bid,
the most efficient option(s).
In the following graph we have compared the amounts paid by a typical bidder in
various spectrum auctions over the last decade, on a per-MHz basis, normalised by
population.
41
In 2009 Finland auctioned TDD and FDD spectrum in the 2.6 GHz band
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£6.50
£4.00
UK 2 GHz
£3.50
Germany
2 GHz
Amount bid (£ / 2x1 MHz / capita)
£3.00
£2.50
£2.00
£1.50
£1.00
Canada 2 GHz
Austria
2 GHz
Belgium / Greece
2 GHz
£0.50
USA 2 GHz
Czech Rep 2 GHz
Hong Kong
2.6 GHz
Australia 2 GHz
New Zealand
2 GHz
Switzerland 2 GHz
£0.00
1999
2GHz
700 MHz
2.6 GHz
USA 700 MHz
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
Denmark
2 GHz
2005
Slovenia
2 GHz
2006
Sweden
2.6 GHz
Norway
2.6 GHz
2007
2008
2009
Year
Figure 5.1: Comparison of prices paid at auction for access to radio spectrum
(Source: Aegis Systems Ltd.)
The value of the radio spectrum will depend on a number of criteria including the
frequency band, the available bandwidth, whether it is paired or un-paired, and the
interference environment (for example whether it is necessary to co-ordinate with
other services in the same or adjacent bands or whether there are limitations placed
on how the spectrum may be used). The benefit of access to lower frequency
bands (e.g. 400 MHz to 1 GHz) is significant for some services such as public
mobile as it is possible to extend coverage beyond the main population centres with
fewer base sites than required in higher frequency bands and also improve indoor
coverage. Therefore these bands are likely to attract higher prices at auction.
5.2
Economies of scale
There are technologies currently available, such as WiMAX that might be suitable
for point to multipoint communications for Smart Grids. For example WiMAX
equipment is already available in a number of frequency bands including we
understand the 2300 – 2400 MHz, 2500 – 2690 MHz, 3400 – 3600 MHz, 3600 –
3800 MHz and 5725 – 5850 MHz bands. It is highly likely that manufacturers will
be willing to “reband” equipment if there are the necessary economies of scale and
that has already occurred in the case of WiMAX as additional frequency bands
have been identified over time. However if there are only a limited number of
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countries that adopt a non-standard frequency band the manufacturers may be
unwilling to modify the rf elements of the equipment or will charge a premium42.
As well as the benefit of harmonised spectrum there are also significant advantages
in adopting common standards for equipment provided the equipment requirements
are not over specified such that they significantly add to the equipment cost
compared with proprietary equipment43.
42
Comments to Aegis from a fixed link vendor when discussing the potential to utilise newly identified
frequency bands where it would be necessary to develop new RF modules.
43
See report on “Costs and benefits of relaxing international frequency harmonisation and radio
standardisation” at http://www.aegis-systems.co.uk/library/report.html
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6
APPROACHES ADOPTED IN OTHER COUNTRIES
6.1
Australia
In the Energy Networks Association “Smart Networks Position Paper”, September
2009, it is mentioned that a number of energy utilities have encountered difficulties
in getting access to appropriate spectrum for the wireless components of their smart
networks on a commercial basis and have requested that 10 – 15 MHz of spectrum
should be identified and reallocated for use in the rollout and operation of electricity
smart networks. It was also requested that “any spectrum identified for smart
network use should be allocated to users for a sufficient period to ensure that smart
networks builds can be justified”.
The national regulator ACMA is currently updating its “Five year Spectrum Outlook”
and one of the proposed substantive updates to the 2009 – 2013 version is to the
information relating to the potential for spectrum to support area-wide and statewide Smart Grid applications. It is proposed to include a range of options including
participation in future spectrum allocations, purchase of existing spectrum licences
and sharing with other industries with similar network requirements.
In response to requests from ACMA for inputs to the updating process Integral
Energy said it was seeking “15 MHz for future Smart Grid applications in a spectrum
as low as possible that could feasibly work for either wireless mesh or WiMAX”.
Also the spectrum should be in one of the internationally recognised WiMAX bands
so that commercially available equipment can be used.
It is interesting to note that in response to the proposed introduction of Smart Grid
electricity applications to the 915 to 928 MHz ISM band the Energy Networks
Association, that represents the Australian energy suppliers requested dedicated
spectrum. The concern is that if this band is used to deploy Silver Springs Networks
(SSN) then if the smart meter becomes highly active, it may occupy the vast
majority of spectrum in the geographical area they are deployed, restricting access
by other users.
6.2
Canada
In June 2008 the national regulator Industry Canada consulted on proposed
changes to the technical requirements for fixed service in the bands 1700 – 1710
MHz and 1780 – 1850 MHz. These revisions took into account “the need for
wireless spectrum to accommodate the emerging and urgent telecommunication
requirement to ensure connectivity to the electrical grid infrastructure” for the
deployment of specialised applications for:
 energy conservation
 station security
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 distribution automation
 real time outage management
 new power generation (small distributed facilities).
It was noted that:
 smart meters were already being deployed, and had been mandated in some
provinces,
 there were new regulations for electrical station security that required
enhanced monitoring of the electrical infrastructure
 to implement the requirements for enhanced and expanded monitoring and
control required a network with a high degree of reliability and wide
geographic coverage
 existing core networks (fibre and microwave) do not address the need of
expanding the management and control systems to the periphery of the
electrical transport and distribution system.
It was therefore considered that wireless systems are essential to ensure
connectivity to all elements of the electrical power grid and a new band plan, shown
below, was proposed.
Figure 6.1: Proposed Band Plan
The 1800 – 1830 MHz portion of the band would be used for radio systems for
operations, maintenance and management of the electrical supply and would be
licensed on a first-come, first-served basis. The 1780 – 1800 MHz and 1830 – 1850
MHz would continue to be used for low capacity and very low capacity point to point
systems.
These proposals were adopted and SPSP-301.7 Issue 2 was released in June 2009
to add the agreed provisions for fixed systems used for the management of the
electric supply.
The requirement for 30 MHz was justified on the basis of extensive modelling of the
different applications and the figure below shows the results of the culmunative
(peak) data transmission requirements over a 24 hour period for the different
applications.
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Figure 6.2: Culmunative (peak) data transmissions
The table below shows the cumulative traffic in an example geographic sector for
different traffic types (applications) that require the higher data rates:
Traffic type (Application)
Average bit rate (kbps)
Peak bit rate (kbps)
Real time outage
1.04
2.39
Backhaul
57.78
991.97
Station monitoring
2101.68
5411.83
Mobile office
85.19
1533.33
management
Table 6.1: Cumulative traffic for higher data rate applications
The high bit rates required for station monitoring, for example, are due to the large
number of locations in the electricity grid, ranging from low voltage transformers
through to high voltage, which need to be monitored to ensure the efficient, reliable
and secure electricity supply.
6.3
USA
In the US the electricity, gas and water utilities are seeking an estimated 30 MHz of
dedicated spectrum to meet all their critical infrastructure needs including the
“growing demands of voice communications, mobile data to personnel, fixed data
including Smart Grid and advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) implementation,
and vital security monitoring for those providing the most critical services to the
public and the U.S. economy” for the next twenty years. The preferred spectrum is
the 1800 – 1830 MHz band which would provide a harmonised allocation with
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Canada. The Utilities Telecom Council (UTC) has urged the FCC to designate the
additional spectrum expressly for Smart Grid use and also to authorise, on a
secondary basis, terrestrial use of the 14.0 to 14.5 GHz band for “critical
infrastructure communications”.
The FCC formally started consideration of the Smart Grid issues in August 2009. It
is planned to take account of inputs submitted in response to a Public Notice issued
on 4th September 2009 soliciting comments on issues relating to Smart Grid and
broadband in the formulation of the National Broadband Plan which is due to be
completed by mid - February this year.
In one presentation at the US Broadband Coalition addressing “Expanding and
Accelerating the Adoption and Use of Broadband” on 13 November 2009 44 the
requirements for a Smart Grid communication network were addressed. A typical
communications network is shown:
Figure 6.3: US view of Smart Grid communication network
The presentation also provided a qualitative summary of the Smart Grid application
requirements which are replicated in the table below:
44
Source: http://www.scribd.com/doc/22581973/US-Broadband-Coalition-Slide-Presentation-Expanding-
and-Accelerating-the-Adoption-Use-of-Broadband-Throughout-the-Economy-of-11-13-09
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Application
Scope:
HS (HubSpoke) or
Spectrum for Smart Grids
Data Rate /
Data Volume
(at end point)
(One way)
Reliability
Security
Latency
Allowance
P2P (Peer to
Peer)
Smart
HS
Low / V Low
High
Medium
High
P2P
High / Low
V Low
V High
V High
P2P, HS
Medium /
Low
High
High
Low
High
High
metering
Inter-site
rapid
response45
SCADA
Low
Operations
HS
Medium /
data
Low
Distribution
HS, P2P
Low / Low
Low
High
High
HS, P2P
Medium /
Low
High
High
Medium
High
High
automation
Distributed
energy
Low
management
and control
Video
HS
High /
surveillance
Medium
Mobile
HS
Low / Low
Low
High
High
HS
Medium /
Medium
Medium
Medium
workforce
Enterprise
data
Low
Enterprise
P2P
Low / V Low
Low
High
Medium
HS, P2P
High / Low
Low
High
High
voice
Micro grid
management
Table 6.2: Summary of Smart Grid application requirements
The information in the table above demonstrates the importance of high reliability
and security of communications for most applications pointing towards the need for
licensed spectrum. Also the need for low latency indicates that shared networks,
45
56
Example is teleprotection
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unless the traffic is prioritised, will not meet the needs of most Smart Grid
applications.
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CONCLUSIONS
Information provided by Utility Companies in Europe indicates that there is currently
no harmonised spectrum to support the mission critical communication requirements
of the fuel and power industries. Instead, individual frequencies are typically
assigned on a country by country basis for applications such as SCADA, PMR and
backhaul links. There is currently insufficient spectrum to meet their needs,
especially for point to multipoint communications, and very little specifically allocated
for their use only.
This situation is already far from ideal but will be compounded by the need to
efficiently manage the electricity and gas networks to enable Governments to
reduce their carbon footprint and achieve a 20% increase in energy efficiency by
2020. This will require a reliable and secure communications network to support the
Utility Companies in monitoring, controlling and optimising all aspects of the
generation, transmission and distribution of power and its usage by customers.
Increasingly there is integration of electricity markets and with interconnected power
systems the reliability of supply is not specific to an individual country. Interruptions
in any particular system may therefore have significant cross border impacts. It is
recognised within the industry that “satisfactory handling of reliability in
interconnected systems calls for effective cross border coordination, cooperation
and communication among the system operators” and this ideally requires a
common approach to the implementation of communications in support of Smart
Grids, including harmonised frequency bands.
Of course not all of the required communications applications need access to
dedicated networks to meet the necessary high to very high reliability and quality of
service 24/7. For some less critical applications, such as smart metering, it may be
feasible to share networks (e.g. public cellular networks). Also it may be possible to
utilise capacity on fibre networks where there is a need for higher data rate fixed
point to point communications but for low capacity communications, especially in
rural areas, radio will be the most cost effective solution.
It is estimated that between 15 and 30 MHz of spectrum will be required and that the
ideal spectrum will be below 1 GHz, but up to 3 GHz may be viable. To meet the
more critical communication needs it is not considered that licence-exempt
spectrum will be a viable option because it is shared with many other users and the
interference environment cannot be effectively managed. Therefore it is necessary
to identify spectrum that can be licensed on a dedicated or shared basis. However
it is unlikely that the utilities will be able to share spectrum with most other users 46
46
The exception is fixed point to point links where the spectrum is licensed on a first come first served
basis on a link by link basis.
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with the possible exception of the military if there is limited geographic use of the
spectrum (e.g. it is only used at specific locations and times for training exercises).
The other consideration is whether it is necessary to identify suitable paired
spectrum, as gaining access to FDD spectrum is likely to be significantly more
difficult and expensive especially in the lower frequency bands, or whether unpaired
spectrum is suitable. The main determinant will be whether the Smart Grid
applications require a low or very low latency and whether TDD can meet these
needs.
The table below provides an overview of potential frequency bands:
Frequency
FDD / TDD
Band
Potential to
Timescales
Potential of gaining access
Unknown
Depends on decisions re
harmonise
band in Europe
for Smart
Grids
88 – 108 MHz
Unknown
Unknown
analogue FM radio broadcasting
Need to change
switch off. Considered unlikely
allocation from
in the short / medium term
Broadcasting
only
230 – 380 MHz
Unknown
Low
Unknown47
Unknown
Core military (NATO) band and
have not previously been
positive to moving emergency
services spectrum downwards
380 – 470 MHz
FDD / TDD
Low - Medium

5 years48
Medium – High. Spectrum
already used by utilities in the
band. Unlikely to gain sufficient
spectrum to meet full
requirements and harmonisation
across Europe may be difficult
but might be possible to achieve
a harmonised tuning range.
Important band for PMR and
47
In the UK the MoD has indicated that it may be possible to release the band beyond November 2012.
48
In the UK the MoD has indicated that 406.1 – 430 MHz may be released by November 2010. Other
countries are not so pro-active in encouraging the military to release spectrum. Also potential in previous
analogue mobile / CDMA 450 spectrum in some countries.
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also different frequencies used
by emergency services across
Europe
470 – 790 MHz
TDD
Low - medium
< 5 years
Medium
Much depends on
administrations replanning their
frequencies used for digital
broadcasting and being able to
identify a number of 8 MHz TV
channels that can be released
within a specific frequency
range. Interference issues if not
harmonised due to high powers
used for TV transmissions and
occasional anomalous
propagation conditions
White spaces in
TDD
Unlikely
After digital
470 – 790 MHz
switchover
band
which has
already occurred
in some
Very low.
Intensive use of UHF
frequencies / potential for
interference make this an
unlikely solution
countries and is
due to be
completed
Europe wide by
2012
800 MHz (790 –
FDD most
862 MHz)
likely
Low
Band is
harmonised
across Europe
for use by ECNs
After digital
switchover
which has
already occurred
Low.
Would be in direct competition
with mobile operators for whom
this is a key band.
in some
countries and is
Decisions re the future use of
due to be
the spectrum have already been
completed
made in many countries.
Europe wide by
Potential award of some
2012
spectrum to PPDR / emergency
services may occur but lobbying
commenced around 2006.
821 – 832 MHz
(800 MHz
centre gap)
TDD
Low
Channel plan is
harmonised for
the 800 MHz
60
After digital
switchover
which has
already occurred
Low
Use restricted and centre gap
already identified for use by
PMSE and low power
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band
in some
applications. Compatibility with
countries and is
cellular transmissions in
due to be
adjacent bands likely to be
completed
problematic
Europe wide by
2012
870 – 876
FDD
Low
Unknown
paired with 915
Low.
While this band was identified
– 921 MHz
for the introduction of wideband
PMR / PAMR it appears that a
number of initiatives have taken
place that mean there is a good
probability part will be used for
GSM-R in some countries and
the rest for SRDs and RFIDS
1452 – 1492
TDD
Low - medium
< 5 years
Medium - high
Band is
The band is not the only one
currently
available to provide terrestrial
harmonised for
digital audio broadcasting, so
terrestrial and
potential to release some
satellite digital
spectrum. Limited licences for
audio
T-DAB issued.
broadcasting
RSPG Opinion in 2006
considered high probability for
Europe wide availability of
common spectrum for the
introduction of multi media
services.
Possible cross border
interference issues.
1670 – 1675
TDD
MHz
Very low
Unknown
Very low
Band
Significant number of satellite
harmonised for
filings so band unlikely to be an
mobile satellite
option
service
1785 – 1805
MHz
TDD
Low - Medium
Unknown
Low – Medium
The band is identified for use for
PMSE but to date there appears
to be no use of the band but
equipment is available. Also
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used for governmental
applications and being
considered for WAPECS in
some countries.
1710 – 1880
FDD
MHz
Low
Band is
harmonised for
IMT
Possibility of
gaining access
when licences
are renewed or
now if spare
spectrum is
available.
Cellular
operators will be
gaining access
Low - Medium
Spectrum identified for use in
Canada for smart grids. The
cellular operators are likely to
react strongly and adversely to
any suggestions to allocate
spectrum to the utilities on a
country by country basis due to
the considerable growth seen in
the take up of data services
to further
spectrum so
might be able to
release some
bandwidth.
2025 -2110 and
FDD / TDD
Medium to high
< 5 years
2200 – 2290
High for low density
applications.
MHz
Would need to convince the
space community and military
users that it is possible to share
spectrum
2300 – 2400
FDD / TDD
Medium to high
Unknown
MHz
Medium.
Mixed use of the band across
Europe but might be potential to
release quickly in some
countries. WiMAX equipment
already available.
2500 – 2690
FDD / TDD
MHz
Medium
Band
harmonised for
IMT
Spectrum
already awarded
in some
Medium
Potential to acquire spectrum via
licence tenders or trading
European
countries
WiMAX equipment already
available for TDD. FDD LTE
equipment already available but
paired spectrum likely to be
prohibitively expensive
3400 – 3600
62
FDD / TDD
Medium
Spectrum
Medium
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MHz
already awarded
in some
Potential to acquire spectrum via
licence tenders or trading
European
countries
WiMAX equipment already
available for FDD and TDD.
Will need to co-ordinate with
satellite earth stations
3600 – 3800
FDD / TDD
MHz
Medium to high
Spectrum to be
made available
from 2012
Medium
Potential to acquire spectrum via
licence tenders
WiMAX equipment already
available
3600 – 4200 MHz is a fixed
point to point band and it is also
used for satellite earth stations
so there are potential coordination issues
Table 8.1: Overview of potential frequency bands
The table illustrates the challenges facing the utilities in obtaining access to a single
block of harmonised spectrum to meet the communication needs of Smart Grids.
However on a country by country basis it might be possible to identify spectrum,
probably not just in a single band, and the key to success will be to identify a
number of frequency bands so a limited multi band option can be adopted for
Europe.
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ANNEX A: POTENTIAL OF OBTAINING ACCESS TO 470 – 862
MHZ SPECTRUM
The 470 – 862 MHz band is understandably of interest to the Utility Organisations
as the propagation characteristics provide the potential to achieve longer and non
line of sight links to the large numbers of 11 kV low voltage sub-stations as well as
the 66 kV and 33 kV sub-stations many of which will be located in rural areas.
However there is also considerable interest in the band from both the broadcasters,
the current users of the spectrum, and the public mobile network operators both of
whom see the spectrum as key to their future provision of services. During the initial
discussions at the EU level on the potential for a digital dividend there was
considerable lobbying undertaken by both the broadcasters and the mobile
operators providing technical and economic arguments for access to the spectrum.
The Public Safety Organisations have also been actively seeking access to
spectrum to cater for all narrowband, wideband and broadband PPDR (Public
Protection and Disaster Relief) applications requiring wide area coverage. The
European Commission has already initiated work within the ECC to identify suitable
spectrum, and there are workshops scheduled in March to discuss the spectrum
needs, and in ETSI work is being completed on a system reference document. To
date there have been no decisions made on a European basis.
Digital switch-over is due to be completed in Europe wide by 2012 but in some
countries it has already occurred and decisions on future use of the spectrum have
been made. It is therefore unlikely, in our view, that it will be possible for the Utility
Organisations to obtain access to harmonised spectrum in the 790 – 862 MHz band
at this late stage. The only option would be to bid in auction but with the
considerable interest from the mobile network operators in this spectrum it is likely
that the spectrum will not be cheap!
This then leaves the options of further spectrum (8 MHz TV channels) being
identified for release or use of white spaces / interleaved spectrum in the 470 – 790
MHz band. The first option requires administrations to replan their frequencies used
for digital broadcasting and also adopt / migrate to broadcasting technologies that
allow more channels to be supported on each Multiplex and where possible adopt
single frequency networks that require less spectrum. The probability of being able
to release a further block of harmonised spectrum is extremely small. Therefore
even if a frequency range can be identified within which one or more channels can
be released there will still be interference issues due to the high powers used for TV
and occasional anomalous propagation conditions. It is also noted that in CEPT
Report 22, “Technical Feasibility of Harmonising a Sub-band of Bands IV and V for
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Fixed/Mobile Applications (including uplinks), minimising the Impact on GE0649” it is
specifically mentioned in the consequences “that the level of interference likely to
arise from the implementation of GE-06 plan entries makes it virtually impossible for
any country to start using a harmonised sub-band for mobile communications
applications without the agreement of neighbouring countries, noting that these may
not be members of the CEPT or EU/EEC in all cases. Implementation of this
harmonised sub-band will therefore require bilateral or multilateral negotiations,
under the procedures of the GE-06 Agreement, which have been designed to
ensure equitable access to spectrum by all administrations. This process, although
time consuming, will be required to maintain equitable access for all administrations,
irrespective of the impact of any change of use of the harmonised sub-band on their
existing broadcasting layers in the GE-06 Plan, by enabling them to either
reconstitute those layers, or balance any loss of spectrum for broadcasting with the
gain of spectrum for other services”. This would also apply to any other spectrum
that might be released.
In the case of white spaces there are ongoing debates as to their potential
usefulness in Europe as the UHF frequencies are used much more intensively for
TV transmission than in the US where interest in white spaces is greatest. These
discussions are also centred around the feasibility of identifying suitable frequencies
in a geographic area and these need to be resolved. In CEPT Report 24, which
reports on the “preliminary assessment of the feasibility of fitting new/future
applications/services into non-harmonised spectrum of the digital dividend (namely
the so-called "white spaces" between allotments)”the findings were:
“CEPT identified white space as a part of the spectrum, which is available for a
radiocommunication application (service, system) at a given time in a given
geographical area on a non-interfering / non protected basis with regard to primary
services and other services with a higher priority on a national basis. The spectrum
capacity offered by white spaces in the UHF band to other services will depend
upon the use of the band by primary services.
Based on the decisions of the RRC06 and WRC-07 related to the UHF band, white
space spectrum availability is being gradually reduced.
The controlled access of PMSE services to white space spectrum is expected to
continue in the foreseeable future, taking into account the development of digital
broadcasting in the frequency band 470 - 862 MHz.
The feasibility of cognitive sharing schemes has not yet been conclusively
demonstrated. It is too early in the development cycle to judge the final capabilities
of cognitive radio technology for white space devices.
49
It should be noted that this report addressed the potential of releasing harmonised spectrum in the
upper half of the 470 – 862 MHz band (798 – 862 MHz) for cellular services.
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The current CEPT view is that any new white space applications should be used on
a non protected non interfering basis.
Further studies are required into the framework needed to enable the use of CR
devices within white space spectrum”.
To conclude there might be options available in the 470 – 790 MHz band but they
require further studies before there is any certainty as to whether they may be
feasible and in the case of the release of further broadcasting spectrum this will
require considerable support from the national administrations.
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