Week 2

Spectrum Management, Regulations

and Interference Control

Nasir Faruk, Ph.D

Department Of Telecommunication Science
University Of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria
 This week
 RADIO SPECTRUM
 CLASSIFICATION OF RADIO WAVE SPECTRUM
 THE LICENSED SPECTRUM
 THE UNLICENSED SPECTRUM

 RADIO SPECTRUM REGULATION AND MANAGEMENTS

 RADIO SPECTRUM AS FINITE RESOURCES
 SPECTRUM MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK AND OBJECTIVES
 SPECTRUM REGULATION
 THE NIGERIAN COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (NCC)
 THE INTERNATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATION UNION
 WEAKNESS OF THE CURRENT SPECTRUM MANAGEMENT MODEL

 AIR INTERFACE AND MULTIPLE ACCESS TECHNIQUES IN

GSM SYSTEM
 FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS OF FDM
 THE GSM FREQUENCY SPECTRUM
 UPLINK AND DOWNLINK FREQUENCIES
 ABSOLUTE RADIO FREQUENCY CHANNEL NUMBER (ARFCN)

 STUDY QUESTIONS
 FURTHER READING

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THE RADIO SPECTRUM
 The essential feature of all wireless system is that the final link
RADIO
between the subscriber and fixed networks is by radio.
 Radio technology is concerned with the lower (in frequency)
part of the EM (Electromagnetic) spectrum
 The EM spectrum is the range of all frequencies. It covers the
frequency range from 3 kHz-300GHz as shown in Fig 2.1.

Fig 2.1
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 CLASSIFICATION OF RADIO WAVE SPECTRUM

Ban Band designation frequency range Application Areas

d No
1 VLF (very low frequency) 3 kHz-30 kHz Maritime Radio communication
2 LF (low frequency ) 30 kHz-300 kHz Maritime and radio navigation
3 MF (medium frequency) 300 kHz-3 MHz AM Broadcast, Aeronautical mobile
4 HF (high frequency) 3 MHz-30 MHz Maritime and Aeronautical mobile
5 VHF (very high 30 MHz-300 MHz Land Mobile, FM and TV broadcast
frequency)
6 UHF (ultrahigh 300 MHz-3 GHz TV broadcast, Mobile Satellite, Land Mobile
frequency)
7 SHF (Super High 2 GHz-40 GHz Direct Microwave link, Fixed satellite service
Frequency) in the C band (4GHz and 6GHz), in Ku band
(11GHz and 16 GHz) or Ka band (19GHz and
29GHz)
8 EHF (extreme high 40-300 GHz mmWave communication and Research
frequency)

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 THE LICENSED SPECTRUM
Some Licensed spectrum allocations in Nigeria
Service/system Frequency Example
AM radio 535- 1605 KHz AM kano, AM kwara
FM radio 88-108MHz Unilorin FM, 89.3 MHz
Broadcast TV(VHF) 30 MHz-300 MHz NTA Ilorin, 203.25 MHz
Broadcast TV(UHF) 470- 806MHz Kwara TV 583.28MHz
Broadband wireless 746-764 MHz,776-794 MHz Broadband service
1G and 2G cellular 806-902MHz GSM (MTN, Glo etc)
3G wireless 1.7-1.85GHz, 2.5-2.69GHz 3G, UMTS, Wimax
Wireless communications service 2.305-2.32GHz, 2.345-2.36GHz WLAN, Wimax

Licensed spectrum user is protected against

electromagnetic interference
The spectrum efficiency is low as no other user is
permitted to use the spectrum
Licensed user may not use the spectrum at all time
5 in all locations.
 Unlicensed spectrum
 Wireless transmitters are operating at particular frequencies without
rules regulations and authorization binding the operations
 It allows multiple users to operate at the same frequency as such no
protection from interference.

Band Usage Frequency

ISM band I Cordless phone 1G WLAN 902-928 MHz
ISM band II Bluetooth, 802.11b, 802.11g WLANs 2.4-2.4835GHz
ISM band III Wireless PBX 5.725-5.85GHz
U-NIII band I Indoor systems 802.11a WLANs 5.15-5.25GHz
U-NII band II Short-range outdoor system, 802.11a WLANs 5.25-5.35GHz
U-NII band III Long range outdoor sytems, 802.11a WLANs 5.725-5.825GHz

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 RADIO SPECTRUM REGULATION AND MANAGEMENTS

 Radio Spectrum as Finite Resources

 Based on Command and Control Model
 What is interference and how do we mitigate it?
 Spectrum management
 the process of regulating, coordinating, monitoring and planning the use of radio
frequencies to promote efficient use for the purpose of a net social benefit.
 The aim of spectrum management is:
 to control and encourage the use of the spectrum
 to ensure fair allocation of the spectrum
 to ensure adequate protection of the license owners by preventing interferences
 to ensure efficient use of the spectrum by promoting competition in the assignment of
the spectrum
 to generate revenue for the government

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Fig. 2.2 Spectrum management frame work
 Spectrum Management Frame Work

SPECTRUM MONITORING
LEGAL AND LAW
REGULATORY ENFORCEMENT
FOUNDATION

SPECTRUM PLANNING DATA BASE INSPECTION OF

AND ALLOCATION SPECTRUM RADIO
MANAGEMENT INSTALLATIONS

SPECTRUM
ENGINEERING LICENSING
ASSIGNMENTS,
AND BILLING

RULES, FREQUENCY COORDINATION

REGULATIONS, AND NOTIFICATION
AND STANDARDS

8 Fig 2.3 Spectrum Management Frame Work

 RADIO SPECTRUM REGULATION

 Regulation
 to determine how a particular spectrum band could be used.
 Regulators:
 NCC:- Nigeria communications commission, Nigeria
 FCC:- Federal communication commission, USA
 ARIB :-Association of Radio Industries and Business, Japan
 CEPT :-European Conference of Postal and Telecommunication
Administration, Europe
 OFCOM:- Office of Communication, UK etc

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 The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC)

 Established by Decree 75 of 1992 as a regulator for the telecoms sector

 Became operational in 1993.
 Telecommunications activities in Nigeria are guided by the National Policy on Communications, the
Wireless Telegraph Act and the Nigerian Communications Act (NCA) of 2003.
 As the independent regulatory authority for the telecoms sector, in summary, NCC’s objectives were
to:
 Create an enabling environment to facilitate the supply of telecoms services and facilities;
 Facilitate the entry of private entrepreneurs into the telecoms market;
 Promote fair competition and efficient market conduct among all players in the industry; and,
 Establish the Universal Service Fund (USF) to promote the widespread, availability and usage of network services and
applications services throughout Nigeria.
 Protection and promotion of the interests of consumers against unfair practices, including but not limited to, matters
relating to tariffs and charges for and the availability and quality of communications services, equipment and facilities;
 Management and administration of frequency spectrum for the communications sector and assisting National Frequency
Management Council (NFMC) in developing a national frequency plan;
 Carrying out type approval tests on communications equipment and issuing certificates therefore on the basis of technical
specifications and standards prescribed from time to time;

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 The International Telecommunication Union

 The ITU managed the spectrum at the international level

 Based in Geneva, Switzerland.
 This specialized agency of the United Nations has among its
major purposes :
 the avoidance of radio interference and
 the equitable and efficient use of spectrum
 It essentially governs the use of spectrum, by allocating
spectrum to some 40 different services around the world.
 ITU-R also acts as a central registrar of international
frequency use, recording and maintaining the Master
International Frequency Register

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 Weakness of the Current Spectrum
Management Model
 CCM
 The spectrum licensee cannot be changed: the static nature of the spectrum assignment makes it
impossible for secondary reuse, even though the spectrum is underutilized.
 The homogeneous nature of the spectrum usage makes it very difficult to change the type of wireless
service. This is due the fact that the 8 MHz spectrum block assigned for analogue TV is largely
underutilized, particularly in the night. Hence, and so, no other service provider is allowed to reuse
the spectrum by providing wireless data service in contrast to the broadcasting services.
 The need to avoid interference between the licensed (primary user) and unlicensed (secondary users)
is topmost priority by the regulators, thus rendering the spectrum underutilized.
 Dynamic spectrum access (DSA)
 the main goal of which is to create flexibility in the spectrum usage so that secondary users could have
access to the spectrum, with expected improvement on spectrum utilization.
 The critical issue is for the regulators to develop DSA policies that would help in the proper
management and engineering of the spectrum so that the spectrum could be effectively and efficiently
utilized.
 However, the difficulties lie in the development of comprehensive and clear-cut policies that would
protect the licensed users from unacceptable interference from the secondary users who want to make
use of the licensed spectrum for secondary use.

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AIR INTERFACE AND MULTIPLE ACCESS
TECHNIQUES IN GSM SYSTEM

 FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS OF FDM

 adjacent channel
 guard bands
 THE GSM FREQUENCY SPECTRUM
 In GSM 900 band
 890-895 MHz uplink (MSBS) or reverse channel
 935-940 MHz Downlink (BSMS) or forward channel
 In GSM 1800 Band we have
 1770-1785 MHz uplink (MSBS) or reverse channel
 1865-1880 MHz Downlink (BSMS) or forward channel

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 Channel allocations and TDMA
 In the 900MHz band, the network has 5 MHz (895-890) bandwidth
 In the 1800 MHz we got 15 MHz (1880-1865) bandwidth.
 Each frequency range is then divided into 200 kHz channels
 So an average of 25 MHz bandwidth for each network making the total sum of
125 channels.

OPERATOR ETISALAT MTEL GLO MTN ZAIN

Transmit (Tx) 935-940/ 1865- 940-945/ 1805- 945-950/ 1820- 950-955/ 1835- 955-960/ 1850-
FREQUENCY 1880 1820 1835 1850 1865
Receiving (Rx) 890-895/ 1770- 895-900/ 1710- 900-905/ 905-910/ 1740- 910-915/ 1755-
FREQUENCY 1785 1725 1725-1740 1755 1770

Fig 2.4. Channel allocations and TDMA

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 The FDMA/TDMA structure of GSM

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 ABSOLUTE RADIO FREQUENCY CHANNEL NUMBER (ARFCN)

 ARFCN is a number that described the frequencies used for uplink and
downlink in GSM system.
 As explained earlier, the uplink and downlink frequencies each have a
bandwidth of 200 kHz.
 The uplink and downlink have a specific offset that varies for each band.
 The offset is the frequency separation of the uplink from the downlink.
 Every time the ARFCN increases, the uplink will increase by a factor of 200
kHz and the downlink also increases by 200 kHz.
 Once you have the ARFCN for a particular BTS you can of course compute
the frequency.
 The actual physical bandwidth required to keep voice call is about 135.4 kHz
but 200 KHz is budgeted this means the unused bandwidth for each ARFCN
acts as a buffer between other ARFCN to avoid interference.
 In the GSM900 band ARFCN 1 to 124 are used.
 In the GSM1800 band ARFCN 512 to 885 are used.
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 ARFCN Table 3: Some frequency allocation for GSM 900 and GSM 1800 band

UP Link Down Link

ARFCN (MHz) (MHz)
 Using eqn (1-4) below you can calculate
GSM 900 Band
the frequency of both uplink and 80 906 951
downlink for both 900 and 1800 MHz 81 906.2 951.2
band. 82 906.4 951.4
83 906.6 951.6
85 907 952
86 907.2 952.2
87 907.4 952.4
GSM 900 88 907.6 952.6
Up = 890.0 + (ARFCN *0.2) ….............. (1) 89 907.8 952.8
Down = Up + 45.0 .......………….......... (2) 90 908 953
91 908.2 953.2
GSM 1800 Band
DCS1800 650 1737.8 1832.8
655 1738.8 1833.8
Up = 1710.2 + ((ARFCN - 512) * 0.2)...(3) 660 1739.8 1834.8
Down = Up + 95.0 …………..……........(4) 665 1740.8 1835.8
670 1741.8 1836.8
675 1742.8 1837.8
680 1743.8 1838.8
685 1744.8 1839.8
690 1745.8 1840.8
695 1746.8 1841.8
17 700 1747.8 1842.8
 Study questions
1. List the frequency bands of the radio spectrum and the application of each frequency band
2. What are the issues involved in the radio spectrum management?
3. Some frequency bands are licensed while some remain unlicensed discuss the advantages
and disadvantages if any of licensed and unlicensed spectrum allocation strategy
4. What is spectrum management ?
5. Briefly explain the key spectrum management framework and objectives
6. Why do we need Spectrum Regulation?
7. The Nigerian Communications Commission , NCC was established as an independent
regulatory authority for the telecoms sector in 1992. Briefly describe five objectives of NCC
8. Briefly explain the Weakness of the Current Spectrum Management Model
9. In standard GSM the UL and DL frequencies differ by 45 MHz. State why
the DL always uses the higher frequency.
10. In TABULAR form, briefly, discuss ONE advantage and disadvantage of licensed and
unlicensed spectrum allocations from network operators’ perspectives.
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 Tutorial Questions
Q1. Assuming a network operator uses four cell cluster system to provide 2G
services to Ilorin, and the following frequency ranges are set available to
them DL and UL: 950-955 and 905-910, for 900 MHz band, and 1835-1850
and 1740-1755 , 1800 MHz band. Assuming non uniform distribution of
the channels amongst the cells, for each band, determine:
i. The number of frequencies available and the maximum number of users in
each cell if each user is assigned one time slot
ii. The number of frequencies available and the maximum number of users in
each cell if each user is assigned half time slot.
iii. Comment on (a) and (b)
iv. Determine also the AFRCN range for the frequencies.
v. Comment on the results for 900 MHz and 1800 MHz bands.
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 references
 W. Gosling, “Radio spectrum conservation”, Jordan Hill Oxford,
publishing Ltd, ISBN 07 50637404, pp 4, 2000.
 Ndukwe E.C. (2003): An Overview of Evolution of the
Telecommunication Industry in Nigeria and Challenges Ahead (1999-
2003). www. ncc.gov.ng. Accessed in July 2004.
 Ndukwe E.C. (2004): Nigerian Communications Commission Strategic
Management Plan 2004-2007. www.ncc.gov.ng. Accessed April 14,
2004.
 Qing Zhao, and Ananthram Swami, “A survey of dynamic
spectrum access: signal processing and networking perspectives”,
Vol 4, pp IV-1349 - IV-1352, Acoustics,. ICASSP 2007. IEEE
International Conference on Speech and Signal Processing, 2007,
15-20 April 2007
 R. J. Berger, “Open spectrum: a path to ubiquitous connectivity,”
Queue, vol. 1, no. 3, pp. 60–68, 2003
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 Questions
and comments
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