EUROPEAN SATELLITE NAVIGATION COMPETITION 2010

Section A: Technical aspectsDeveloping cognitive radio receivers for 802.22 /WRAN (wireless Radio

Area network) using GNSS (Galileo).

The need for effective utilization of the radio spectrum has become an important area of research in the field of wireless communications. Today, wireless devices use fixed bands in the spectrum allocated by standardizing committee like the LTE1

and FCC2. FCC has conducted various studies on the under utilization of the allocated spectrums3 .One such frequency band is the TV signal band (VHF and UHF band). FCC has come up with the 802.22 standard for development of broadband services in these bands. We propose a product that will enable the deployment of WRAN technology in the future. As a first step, the company will develop efficient and robust ‘cognitive receivers’ which can be plugged into a computer to operate in a WRAN network for fixed users. Future prospects include using such receivers in handheld and portable devices.

Improvement on existing solutionThe current limitation of wireless technologies like Wi-fi , Wimax is the short area coverage . A number of routers, base stations and repeaters are required for expansion of the network. A “cognitive receiver” offers solutions for wide area deployment of networks at a respectable data rates.

Technology Specifications

The technical specifications of WRAN networks have already been decided by FCC. Some important specifications are

• A VHF/ UHF band network (US :54-72 MHz ,76-88Mhz ,174-216 MHz, 470-806 MHz)

• Cell radius: 17 – 33 Km.1 Long Term Evolution

2 Federal communication Commission

3 bungae.kaist.ac.kr/seminar/Material/2007/.../0129-김김김.pdf

• Point to multipoint network topology

• Use of GPS mandatory

• For fixed and mobile users (802.22 PHY standard for mobile users)

• 6 MHz bandwidth , 1.5 Mbps downlink /384 Kbps uplink

An important aspect of our product is the antenna efficiency and size. For fixed users, our device will use the TV antenna of the user to set up a WRAN network .In case the user doesn’t have an antenna, customized antennas will be sold with our receivers . As the size of the antenna is not critical for fixed users, these antennas will be designed to work at lower frequencies of the TV band spectrum.

For mobile users, the antenna size has to be small. This is possible by developing “cognitive receivers” for higher frequency of the TV band spectrum.

Advantages of our product

• Will work in a large dedicated data network area coverage( upto 100 Km theoretically)

• Lower cost of setup ( few base stations and repeaters compared to 802.11 and 802.16)

• Deeper penetration of data networks (internet) in developing countries.

• An alternative wireless solution to fixed data networks.

This product will make internet more ubiquitous due to its long range wireless capability. It can provide internet speeds similar to ADSL and cable modem in less populated areas. In cities, it can provide lower speed access to internet like those available on 3G and GPRS4 technology. An impending problem of large usage of bandwidth by 3G phones will be solved by using dedicated WRAN networks for establishing data communication networks.

The use of GNSS

Galileo GNSS will be an essential entity of 802.22 wireless communication standards. A WRAN base station and its community of users will share a common

4 General Packet Radio Service

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clock. Galileo GPS provides accurate timing signals along with latitude and longitude of the user. These parameters will improve the robustness of the cognitive receiver in following ways

• Accurate synchronization with the base station

• To detect if the CPE(customer premises equipment) is within or outside the protected contour of a licensed spectrum

• The base station will be equipped with GPS which will communicate with a centralized database to give information about available free channels and guard bands in the area

• Using Galileo GNSS to monitor the inflow and out flow of users in within a WRAN cell.

Making the product a reality!

For proof of concept, USRP5 boards and open source Gnuradio software packages can be used to develop software for efficient spectrum sensing. After establishing for robustness of the software, specialized RF front ends will be developed using this software to market a WRAN compatible plug and play device with a personal computer. Development of antenna’s first for fixed users and then for mobile users will also be undertaken . For deploying WRAN network base stations, third parties network service providers can be approached or developed in house. Existing GSM6, mobile networks infrastructure, can be considered for WRAN setup.

Has the idea been tested already?

A lot of research is being conducted in the field of cognitive radios [1]. FCC is in the process to set the standards for spectrum sensing. There is a large open source community on web working on developing cognitive radio protocols.7

Public abstract

As more and more of devices are communicating wirelessly, the spectrum available to accommodate these devices are limited. Most of the frequency spectrum is 5 (Universal software radio peripheral) (www.ettusresearch.com)

6 Global System of Mobile

7 http://gnuradio.org/redmine/wiki/1/AcademicPapers

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underutilized. The future lies in’ cognitive radio technology’. Our company proposes to build reconfigurable radio’s in the UHF/VHF 8 band which have previously been licensed to television operators by following the 802.22 standard and specifications. With a wide network area and data rate speed similar to ADSL9 and cable modem, a large market is foreseen in providing fixed and mobile internet access. Our product will also be an economical solution to connect users at rural and remote places to the internet grid.

Section B: Commercial aspectsAppropriate business sector

The business sector of the product is in the field of telecommunications and mobile phones. This product will expand the reach of internet to remote and rural area. This will increase E trade and commerce.

The product has the opportunity to make profits in developing countries (Africa, India and china), where internet access is limited. Figure 1 shows the projected growth of mobile broadband in the near future.

Appropriate field of application for potential future adaptions.

Potential future adaptations include embedded cognitive receivers in mobile phones and handheld devices. WRAN network planning is another area where large return on investment can be expected. The data speed of WRAN networks is comparable to present data rate as shown in Fig.2 with an advantage of large network area. Hence a large market exists in mobile internet.

8 Ultra High frequency/Very High frequency

9 Asymmetric Digital subscriber Line

*Ovum ,Strategy analytics ,Ericsson ; ** Data compiled from T-mobile services

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Figure 1* Figure 2**

Target market Customers

The company will initially target customers in developing countries and rural areas of developed countries. Due to limited resources of ADSL and cable internet which are mostly restricted to large cities, WRAN networks will be a solution and will boost the existing infrastructure of the data networks. The 8022.22 cognitive receivers for fixed equipment will have high market value in developing countries due to an alternative wireless solution to ADSL and cable internet.

After generating revenues from these services, mobile users will be targeted next. The main challenge lies is incorporating a WRAN receiver in handheld devices. In the developed countries, a large market potential exists in establishing dedicated long range data networks for mobile phones.

To make 802.22 technologies ubiquitous and profitable to our company, a partnership with mobile service providers (T-mobile, Vodafone) and incumbent TV broadcasters (NTSC, ATSC, PAL, DTV and DVB-T)10 is important

Market value

The product will have a high market value as it conforms to the industry standards. The cognitive receiver will be designed in according to the standards set by FCC .Hence market acceptance and interoperability will not be an issue.

Competitors

10 NTSC: National Television Service Committee ;ATSC : Advanced Television Systems Comité;

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To our knowledge there is one company (www.wifiwirelessinc.net) which provides cargo management solutions using the 802.22 standard. Other than this company, presently there are no direct competitors in this segment of market.

Company internals

To realize this product, at least a year of research and development by a small team of engineers (2-3) is required. This can be conducted independently or at the Technical university of Eindhoven as a part of the master’s curriculum. The cost of developing the product involves purchasing USRP test beds (atleast 2) and manufacturing cost of receiver. Using third party to deploy base stations for WRAN network will also influence the cost of the receiver.

The final cost of the product depends on the whether WRAN base stations are deployed in-house or in collaboration with a network provider. The goal of the company will be to keep the manufacturing cost of the receiver as low as possible.

USRP kit + computer +peripherals (antennas ,cables, connectors)

4000 Euros

Rent Office space 400 Euros pm

Final product Will be made competitive with existing solutions

Time before product launch

Our company wishes to be financed either by Galileo masters award under the main prize event or by T –systems. The ground based communication infrastructure of T-systems will allow us to test our cognitive receivers and create WRAN networks on field.

The return on investment for investors will be high as it will create a new market for fixed and mobile internet. No investment on procuring licensed spectrum is required as FCC has opened the spectrum for development of cognitive radios.

Atleast one year is needed to conduct the proof on concept and on development on cognitive front end. Another year will be required to comply the products with FCC standards for mass deployment of the technology. It will take around 1.5 -2 years to develop and launch the product in market.

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Section C: Legal aspects

The IEEE 802.22 standard is proposed by FCC for TV spectrums in the United States of America. The standard has to be modified (the bandwidth and frequency ranges) to make it more suitable for a market of a particular country. The protection from interruption to incumbent service providers and convincing them about non interference caused by the cognitive radio receivers will be a challenge. Onsite testing will play an important role on the success of the product.

The 802.22 standard is mainly targeted for rural and fixed equipment users. Our company will carry out innovation to make it suitable for mobile users. Presently, 802.22 PHY supports mobility upto 114 Km/hr. This idea is not patented but the technology when developed has the potential to be patented.

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