Archive for the ‘GSM’ Category

Experimental radio applications at the FCC

Sunday, September 9th, 2012

This summarizes a selection of applications for the Experimental Radio Service received by the FCC during July and August, 2012. These are related to medium-frequency communications, meteor radar, space-to-space communications, UAV communications, synthetic aperture radar, TV white space, 600 MHz LTE, disaster communications, cellular content caching, GSM, passive intermodulation distortion, ultra-wideband, TDD, ground-mapping radar, Doppler radar, and ground surveillance radar.  The descriptions are sorted by the lowest frequency in the application.

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Experimental Radio Applications at the FCC

Wednesday, July 18th, 2012

This summarizes a selection from 289 applications for the Experimental Radio Service received by the FCC during April, May, and June 2012. These are related to AM, high-frequency propagation, ultra-wideband, frequency-hopped VHF, managed access, small satellites, radar, MIMO, TV white space, low-power FM, stadium wireless service, GSM, and DTV. The descriptions are sorted by the lowest frequency found in the application.

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Experimental Radio Applications at the FCC

Wednesday, April 13th, 2011

This summarizes a selection of applications for the Experimental Radio Service received by the FCC during March 2011. These are related to VHF propagation, satellite communications, TV white space, military communications, radar, software defined radio, aircraft broadband services, adaptive networks, peer-to-peer networks, intermodulation testing, unmanned aircraft systems, maritime broadband communications, border surveillance, target acquisition, and millimeter wave propagation.  The applications are sorted by frequency.

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Experimental Radio Applications at the FCC

Wednesday, February 9th, 2011

This summarizes a selection of applications for the Experimental Radio Service received by the FCC during January 2011. These are related to land mobile radio, VHF propagation study, satellite communications, network-centric warfare, TV white space, software defined radio (SDR), military command and control, remotely piloted aircraft, LTE, radio direction finding, OpenBTS, Identification Friend or Foe (IFF), peer-to-peer communications, flight test telemetry, automotive telemetry, WiMAX, surveillance radar, vehicle radar systems, and millimeter-wave communications.

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Experimental Radio Applications at the FCC

Monday, January 3rd, 2011

This summarizes a selection of applications for the Experimental Radio Service received by the FCC during December 2010. These are related to FM broadcasting, Positive Train Control, TV white space, mobile satellite terminals, GSM, UMTS, through-the-wall surveillance radar, troposcatter communications, millimeter-wave propagation, flight test telemetry, Doppler weather radar, and air-to-air military radar.

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Experimental Radio Applications at the FCC

Wednesday, November 3rd, 2010

This summarizes a selection of applications for the Experimental Radio Service received by the FCC during October 2010. These are related to ultra-wideband, machine-to-machine, satellite, GSM, white space, and radar.

What do I mean by “selection?” I look at all applications for new experimental license or special temporary authority (ignoring renewals, modifications of existing licenses, and transfers of control). From those, I pick the ones I find most interesting, which is most except for the following:

  • GPS repeaters, such as those put in a factory to replicate a GPS environment for testing. (Note, however, that companies regularly get tripped up by not demonstrating compliance with separate NTIA requirements.)
  • Short-term authority for video program production. Someone needs a video link to cover a golf tournament or football game, perhaps by using flight-test telemetry bands (with that coordinator’s permission) for a day.
  • Demonstrations for customers. Demonstrations at trade shows.
  • An application very similar to one covered recently.
  • Applications too vague or lacking enough detail to write much about. If applications are very lacking, FCC staff will sometimes ask for more information.
  • Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) compliance testing including RF immunity testing for compliance with European regulations.
  • RF integration testing. (A radar from company A is paired with telemetry from company B and installed on a ship from company C.)
  • Applications for general-purpose antenna test ranges.
  • Applications for which confidentiality treatment has been sought. Companies can do this under the FCC’s rules, but I suspect it’s overdone at times. The request for confidentiality is made public, and may have some details. (A couple of times I have seen companies put what I think is the confidential information in the confidentiality request.) That, and a bit of independent research, can give me an idea what they’re up to. If I can make an educated guess, I will, saying so.

On to October’s applications:

  • Zimmerman Associates filed an application (with supporting exhibits) for special temporary authority to test the capability of using a full polarimetric UWB radar system for identifying roadside bombs and improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Testing is to be on 3100-5600 MHz at Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia. The prototype equipment uses time-modulated ultra-wideband (UWB) technology developed by Time Domain Corporation. It generates a signal that is position modulated; the position of the modulated pulse varies randomly in time so as to produce a spectrum that approximates Gaussian noise.

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