Regulatory Options Begin Emerging to Spur Cognitive Radio Systems
GENEVA -- Countries want to follow the U.S. and U.K. and experiment with cognitive technologies without global blockages, a white-spaces booster said after a Feb. 1-10 ITU- R meeting to flesh out possible options for the 2012 World Radiocommunication Conference. But broadcasters, science and satellite interests raised concerns about the future use of cognitive systems.
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Most administrations and participants probably agree that commenting publicly on the talks “is not appropriate,” said a satellite executive. The source referred inquiries to the Radiocommunication Bureau, which declined interview requests. Preparatory talks are in the early stage, an executive said.
The meeting was businesslike and light-hearted at times, the white-spaces proponent said. The talks “aren’t just complex, there are some very sensitive issues,” the satellite executive said on condition of anonymity. The satellite industry’s top priority is defending satellite bands, he said. “The goal posts are changing almost on a day-by-day basis.” A great deal of work was done to bring options together, with limited success, the white-spaces proponent said on condition of anonymity. Some administrations raised concerns, valid and otherwise, he said. The tough decisions will be made in June, he said.
The discussion concerns cognitive systems in the broadest sense, the white-spaces booster said. “People are taking a general term and wondering if it affects their particular application,” he said. Radio-astronomy concerns are completely different than broadcasters’, he said. “The existing radio regulations have an immense amount of protection for those particular bands,” he said. Satellite interests said a cognitive device couldn’t be trusted to detect a satellite signal if it wasn’t pointed at the right satellite, the white-spaces booster said.
Meteorology has two qualms about cognitive radio, said Philippe Tristant, the chairman of the World Meteorological Organization’s steering group on radio-frequency coordination. Passive bands need to be protected, said Tristant, who’s frequency manager at Meteo France. Bands used for scientific listening can appear vacant, Tristant said. Fixed satellite and broadcasting satellite services have the same problem in the downlink, he said. Cognitive- like Wi-Fi systems near 5 GHz can also interfere with meteorological radars, Tristant said.
Broadcasters are worried about protecting services, a broadcaster said on condition of anonymity. Interference problems would be very difficult to correct after unlicensed cognitive devices are unleashed in the market, the broadcaster said. Protection of broadcasting services must be considered in advance, the broadcaster said.
The view of the U.S. and some others is that the regulations don’t need to be changed to allow experiments, the white-spaces proponent said. “If you prevent development in a band, then you're not going to get the development of the device to be able to do the studies against,” he said. It’s the chicken-and-egg dilemma, he said. “Sometimes you have to squeeze the chicken.” Some administrations want to experiment and follow the U.S. and U.K. lead, he said. “They don’t want any global blockages getting in the way of learning how these things go.”
The preliminary list of possible options to fill out the cognitive agenda item includes no change to the radio regulations, a call for studies with nothing more, or a resolution for studies and guidelines about how cognitive radio services could be adopted meanwhile, the broadcaster said.
Many people support cognitive technology but say their bands present special cases where the technology shouldn’t operate, the white-spaces proponent said. White spaces are a particular application of cognitive technology, he said. Military interests are important in the talks, an executive said on condition of anonymity.
The U.S. military has invested billions in developing a cognitive-radio system, he said, and has used it for years. It wants commercialization of the chip without the military features, he said, to lower procurement costs. The military isn’t sure it wants commercial, reconfigurable radios in the hands of consumers, he said, and it’s concerned about the bands the devices will use. The military is discussing acceptable applications and techniques, he said.
The deadline for final draft conference preparatory texts is July 16, said a BR official. A meeting Feb. 14-25, 2011, will then massage the proposals into a final document with possible solutions for guidance during the conference. The conference will decide whether to go with the proposed options.