DENVER, 14 Dec. 2007. The upcoming federal auction and licensing of the 700 MHz RF spectrum is a unique opportunity to meet the growing demand for commercial and public-safety wireless broadband applications, says the Software Defined Radio Forum (SDR Forum) in Denver.
The 21-page report, entitled Technology Considerations and Recommendations for Software Defined Radio Technologies for the 700 MHz Public/Private Partnership, identifies how software-defined radio (SDR) and cognitive radio technology could help put a nationwide interoperable broadband 700 MHz network in place that conforms to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations.
Initiated by the Forum's Public Safety Special Interest Group (SIG) and prepared by an ad hoc committee, the report notes that the FCC has adopted the strictest-ever rules for building wireless services.
The report recognizes the challenges that implementing the proposed network presents, including meeting the needs of commercial and public safety users; coverage; shared operational control; robustness; adaptability; and spectrum use in the absence of network build-out.
The new supply of spectrum and the regulations that go with it also present new opportunities for spectrum access and deployment of wireless networks, SDR Forum experts say.
"The Forum believes that SDR, cognitive radio and dynamic spectrum access technology are a vital component of a system design providing the robustness, flexibility, and efficiencies necessary to meet the FCC's expectations and the communications needs of a wide range of users," the report states.
The Forum report offers specific examples of how these technologies could help address challenges of systems that meet the FCC's defined service rules.
One such approach incorporates SDR, cognitive radio, and dynamic spectrum access technologies in system infrastructure and subscriber units to provide a flexible network able to meet diverse requirements and develop in concert with technology and operational evolution, SDR Forum experts say.
"The public/private partnership for the nationwide broadband network is a significant departure from the way public safety communications network have been deployed in the past and presents new challenges to ensure that the vision is fully realized," says Fred Frantz, chair of the SDR Forum's Public Safety special interest group.
For more information contact the SDR Forum online at www.sdrforum.org.
