Visualyse Interference Analysis and Spectrum Management

Existing 'Infrastructure' - can this be used to provide competitive rural broadband

Transfinite is undertaking a study, partially funded by the Technology Strategy Board to look at a potential game changer in the battle to bring mobile coverage and broadband to those out of the way places currently not very well served in the UK.

An Ofcom study concluded that the main reason for wireless not spot areas is an economic one, though planning difficulties are often cited as a barrier. The truth is, the main network operators don’t feel there is enough money to be made, either because of low population densities or challenging terrain that makes network operation too expensive.

So, the Government set up BDUK and the Department of Culture Media and Sport tasked BDUK to administer the Mobile Infrastructure Project.  To quote DCMS

The objectives of MIP are:

• To improve the coverage and quality of mobile network services for the five to ten per cent of consumers and businesses that live and work in areas of the UK where existing mobile network coverage is poor or non-existent; and
• To extend coverage to 99 per cent of the UK population.

Matched funding is available to anyone prepared to bid to BDUK.

You would imagine that this would tip the economic argument and the roll-out would begin. But, as reported in the Register here, this is not the case. Continued uncertainty around PIA (Physical Infrastructure Access) pricing by BT is an effective barrier to non-BT based consortia. In other words the cost of accessing telegraph poles and BT ducts is too much and no-one is going to be able to afford to build alternative infrastructures - it looks like BDUK might have it’s work cut.

Physical infratructure is an interesting phrase to play with.

On an apparently unconnected note, in the current difficult financial climate, local authorities in the UK are switching off or dimming street lights to save electricity, to reduce maintenance costs and to meet carbon emission targets. The physical infrastructure that carries street lighting is much more pervasive than the infrastructure that BT controls – hence maintenance of this can be seen as a large liability and cost.

Looked at from another angle, the street furniture infrastructure could be seen as an underworked valuable asset.

Transfinite has been working for some time with Boulsworth Services looking at the state of the art technologies for ultra-low energy lighting, in particular lighting suitable for outdoor areas. Whilst there are a number of problems associated with LED based lighting, we have found a number of patented and non-patented systems that can and do result in a retro-fitted, replacement street light that provides high quality light at enormous running cost savings. Another group that we have been working with, Ritherdon UK, have been building and trialling these retro-fitted lights for some time.

The replacement lights are installed on existing council ‘Physical Infrastructure’  (you may prefer to call them lamp posts). Lamp posts have a great property that they tend to be in places where people live, work and play or close to the roads that join these places together.

So if we join up some dots here, we might conclude that the replacement street lamp with an integrated multi-technology small cell could be an attractive proposition for the owner of the street furniture.

A so called ‘un-coupled’ Wi Fi network, backhauled using 28 GHz microwave links gives data only coverage without the need to involve the existing core 3G or future planned 4G networks, or cables, or ducts, or telegraph poles. Wi Fi mesh has it’s challenges, but deployment at relatively low heights such as lamps is good for spectral efficiency and potentially for indoor coverage.

If our multi-technology retrofitted producted was available now, the infrastrucutre owner together with an ISP as a partner, could deploy a wireless network, at no net cost, within a couple of years. They would also be able to leave their street lights on and tap into a potentially large revenue stream from the emerging Wireless as a Service (WaaS) market.

We thought this was a no-brainer. The Technology Strategy Board is backing us with funding for a proof of market study under the Smart scheme. We look forward to seeing how it develops and reporting back here.

This morning the walk from central Geneva to the CICG was colder and more slippery than previous days, for during the night it began to snow and there’s no sign of it stopping.

Indeed the forecast is for more falls this week with temperatures tumbling to a low of -13C by the weekend.

Time to wrap up warm or stay snug and warm in the CICG – or visit us over in the CCV.

Delegates at WRC 2012 should not miss a trip to Geneva’s Old Town. This can be found across the river on the south side of the lake – click here for a Google map.

Here you can find a maze of cobbled streets and at its heart Geneva’s St. Pierre Cathedral (above). It dates from the 12th Centuary and you can climb its spire for wonderful views over the city.

Nearby you can find the Old Arsenal and the City Hall or Hotel de Ville (below):

This beautiful building has a history back to the 15th Centuary and was the site of the signing of League of Nations.

Nearby you will find the Place du Bourg-de-Four which is a good place to stop for a coffee or hot chocolate and watch the world go by:

One of the most dramatic sights in Geneva is the famous Jet d’Eau.

Two 500 kW pumps drive water at 200 kmph high into the sky, reaching to 140 metres. At any moment there’s around 7,000 litres of water in the air – enough to soak any delegate underneath!

You can see the jet from almost anywhere in Geneva, but for the best views go down to the lake and stand on the Pont du Mont Blanc bridge. If you keep going along the south side of the lake you will get to the jetty that goes out to the pump itself – but be careful, as the wind direction can change at a moment’s notice. At night the jet is illuminated by 12 lights with a total power of 108 kW.

There are times that the jet can be switched off – such as when the wind gets too strong or the temperature falls so that the water could freeze.

However when its going and the sun is out you can see wonderful rainbows.

You might think that if you read and understand all the ITU-R Recommendations, all the Radio Regulations and all the Rules of Procedure – a mammoth task on it’s own – you could then begin to work as a satellite coordination professional. You would know all the techniques, methods and processes needed to get you from the API stage through to Notification and registering in the MIFR.

This assumes that the codified rules are complete and consistent and can be applied objectively by national and international regulators.

I don’t think this is the case. For many years Transfinite has been providing training course in ITU-R Processes and Procedures in the hope of passing on some knowledge and experience to new engineers. Our view is that there are rules that are not written down or spoken about anywhere.

This has been confirmed to us recently when considering the definitions of ‘bringing in to use’ and ‘bringing in to regular operation’.

These are important definitions. A network filed at ITU locks up a certain amount of resource because anything filed later needs to coordinate with it and give it priority. Hence there are time limits relating to how long after initial filing the operator has before bringing an orbital slot in to use. If you file multiple locations it would be very much in your own economic interest to bring them all into use.

The question is – what constitutes ‘bringing into regular operation’? For instance can you fly through a slot, operate briefly and fly on. This is not specified anywhere in the Radio Regulations.

We now know, thanks to the WRC-12 edition of ITU News, that the rule applied is that ‘a satellite should be present and operating at an orbital location for a minimum of three months’.  Nothing like this can be found in the Radio Regs or the Rules of Procedure.

What this means is that you cannot operate as a coordination engineer without practical experience and, to some extent, ‘insider’ knowledge, perhaps gained though a history of attendance it ITU-R Seminars and Workshops. We like this at Transfinite because it means that consultants are required more than they would otherwise be.

I think that the ITU-R is intent on improving this aspect of the Radio Regulations, and Transfinite like this also because a well codified set of rules lends itself much more easily to implementation in software – which is another string to our bow.

This is the CICG and ITU Tower in Geneva, the home for the next four weeks of the World Radiocommunications Conference (WRC) 2012.

Transfinite Systems are here too, with a stand in the CCV building. We look forward to meeting delegates and answering your questions.

We can be contacted via box 1300 or 1301.