Why not work harder to keep cell phones out? Corrections officials say they try, but can’t get them all. For one thing, prison staff is sometimes a source. If that or other smuggling doesn’t get them in, suppliers can try throwing them over a fence; almost 30 phones and chargers have been stuffed into a football. And so on. With untraceable prepaid phones available for $20 at discount stores, and with the phones valued at $1000 in prison, the incentive and creativity to get them inside is high. Lose a few and you still make money.

With physical boundaries inadequate, electronic countermeasures are getting more attention. In December NTIA released a report discussing these. The report is based on responses to a Notice of Inquiry begun by NTIA in May 2010 at the direction of Congress. It’s also based on NTIA’s own laboratory and field tests. In the report, three technologies get the most attention: jamming, managed access, and detection.

Jamming is straightforward; signals are transmitted that interfere with cell phone use on prison grounds. The main problem is keeping those signals from interfering with legitimate users outside the grounds, while keeping them strong enough inside to be effective. This requires a significant engineering and testing effort up front. As cellular frequencies are changed, the jamming system has to be updated. Moreover, NTIA and some others say that jammer operation by non-Federal entities violates the Communications Act of 1934, as amended. Consultant Michael Marcus, who does some work in this area and participated in the NOI, has an alternative view of the Act based on its legislative history and makes the case that the FCC is authorized to make rules that would allow such jamming. (He assisted the South Carolina Department of Corrections and 30 other state correctional agencies in petitioning the FCC in the summer of 2009 to make rules permitting jamming within correctional institutions; they’re still waiting for a response.)

With the managed-access technique, a small cellular base station intercepts call attempts from the prison. Legitimate callers, identified by a list in the station, are connected to the outside cellular infrastructure. Illegitimate callers are blocked. All calls to 911 can be put through. The hardware to do this is generally more expensive compared to jamming; in one case, a prison pay phone provider paid for the system, a point NTIA reminds us of several times. With such subsidization schemes, however, can come calling costs that are unaffordably high for some. Managed access also requires an ongoing relationship with local cellular providers. When cellular frequencies or air-interfaces change, the managed access system has to be changed. Depending on how it’s implemented, it might violate certain wiretap statutes. As with jamming, there is up-front engineering required to provide good coverage in the prison and minimize interference with legitimate users outside. An advantage of managed access is that, unlike jamming and detection, all equipment can be kept outside the prison grounds; this can make installation and maintenance easier and eliminate tampering by prisoners.

In the detection method, receiving equipment with multiple antennas in the prison detects unauthorized cell phone transmissions; the location of the phone can be estimated to within about 3 meters with the most sophisticated (and costly) detection systems being proposed. After detection comes the human process of retrieving the phone, something not necessary with jamming or managed access. Unlike jamming and managed access, there are no interference issues.

Three other technologies were brought to the attention of NTIA by their proponents. In one scheme, Bluetooth devices throughout a prison send instructions to unauthorized cell phones to lock themselves; this would require a firmware change in phones, and thus changes to standards in relevant wireless standards bodies. Another method, a hybrid managed access scheme, would not only intercept the call, but also force the phone to send location information. Lastly, non-linear junction detectors could be used to detect semiconductor devices in the phone whether the phone is on or off; the detector must be close to the phone for this to work, so it is a manual process involving prison staff.

NTIA concludes that one technology does not fit all; there are tradeoffs of effectiveness and cost. Each prison is unique in infrastructure and security requirements. For some, a combination of technologies may be best. Cost and time may drive the preferred solution. There are a couple of tables in the report that provide handy comparisons of these techniques, but realize they’re slanted a bit against jamming. The tone of the report suggests a preference by NTIA for managed access.

The report doesn’t address evaluating the performance of these systems once they’re installed and on an ongoing basis. How does one establish how effective the system is at installation and at later dates? Jamming and managed access can be made to work, mostly; due to variations in propagation, however, it will be hard to assure there won’t locations in the prison at which a cell phone will work. Access to these spots may become a new prison currency.

No solution is perfect. The corrections agencies realize this. Once the FCC acts on their petition, which would be even more timely with the release of NTIA’s report, they’ll know what options they have.

• Northrop Grumman filed an application for special temporary authority in support of airborne experimental testing of the STARLite Tactical Radar System a small, lightweight (65 pounds) radar used for tactical reconnaissance by Unmanned Aerial Systems. Transmissions will be between 16.2 to 17.3 GHz. The radar has three modes: Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), Ground Moving Target Indicator (GMTI), and Maritime Moving Target Indicator. In the SAR mode, the radar imagery can be one of three forms: parallel to the aircraft flight vector, along a specified ground path independent of the aircraft flight path, or a higher-resolution spot image. In the GMTI mode, the radar provides moving target locations overlaid on a digital map. The MMTI mode performs a similar function for targets over water.

• DRS Tactical Systems, a supplier of rugged computer equipment for military environments, filed an application (with supporting exhibit) for experimental license to test a mobile radio gateway. In the test, the mobile node will be a High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (Humvee) with a mast. Equipment will be Harris model RF-7800W-OU440 broadband Ethernet radios attached to a DRS gateway system. This system is intended aid military and commercial entities by providing complex gateway functionality while in motion. Operation will be on 4.94-4.99 GHz.

• Raytheon Network Centric Systems filed an application (with supporting exhibit) for special temporary authority to operate on 420-450 MHz to demonstrate a communications system that can be used without infrastructure: for example, in times of natural disaster. The system uses the company’s MicroLight RT 1922 software-defined radio in mobile units. It acts as a repeater to route communications through the network.

• Raytheon IDS filed an application (with supporting exhibit) for experimental license to operate on 3101-3399 MHz to test a prototype radar system. The system will use either pulsed Linear FM (LFM) 100 KHz, pulsed LFM 300 KHz, or pulsed unmodulated carriers.

• SpectraCom filed an application (with supporting exhibits) for experimental license to operate a GPS simulator on 1575.42 MHz. This is to test GPS receivers. The testing will use the company’s own 8-channel GPS simulator. The signal is to be transmitted indoors-only and the applicant intends to meet NTIA emission limits on devices that radiate GPS signals (Section 8.3.28 of the Manual of Regulations and Procedures for Federal Radio Frequency Management).

• Universal Avionics Systems filed an application (with supporting exhibits) for experimental license to flight-test its UniLink UL-801, an Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) Communication Management Unit (CMU) that contains an embedded VHF Data Radio (VDR). The VDR supports data communications in two modulation modes, D8PSK and MSK.

Operation will be on 131.550, 136.850, and 136.975 MHz. The frequencies are coordinated by Aviation Spectrum Resources Inc (ASRI), the band manager for aeronautical en route spectrum.

• Clearwire filed an application (with supporting exhibits) for special temporary authority to test WiMAX equipment at several sites in California. Operation is to be on 2502-2568 MHz. Clearwire is going to evaluate the capability of WiMAX equipment to operate satisfactorily when collocated with equipment on other frequencies.

• NJ TRANSIT filed an application for special temporary authority to test TETRA radio technology within its operations area and on its current frequencies, which are in the 800 MHz band. This application is being filed because the TETRA equipment to be tested is not type-accepted by the FCC. In addition, the standard TETRA emission mask does not meet current FCC guidelines. One issue for evaluation is whether the TETRA equipment can coexist with NJ Transit’s legacy systems.

• Northrop Grumman filed an application for special temporary authority to test electronically-scanned-array radar that is to be used to support a missile interceptor system. Operation will be on 16.2 – 17.3 GHz.

• General Dynamics filed an application (with supporting exhibit) for experimental license to conduct demonstrations of its CrossComm land mobile interoperability system. The system of hardware and software components is intended to bind disparate communication systems together enabling network layer interoperability, an approach General Dynamics finds superior to radio interoperability. Public Safety is one target market. The demonstrations will be on several frequencies around 420 MHz.

• Northrop Grumman filed an application (with supporting exhibit) for special temporary authority to test a Furuno model 1945 marine radar for target detection, perimeter intrusion, and operation in the presence of line-of-sight terrain obstructions. (This is another in a string of applications by various entities proposing unconventional use of this radar system.)

• Tideland Signal filed an application (with supporting exhibits) for experimental license to test and demonstrate Automatic Identification System (AIS) Aid to Navigation (AtoN) equipment. According to the application, “AIS AtoN equipment works with the international ship-based AIS and provides AtoN position and health status information to the mariner. AIS AtoN is also used to report AtoN status information to the shore-based owner or operator of the AtoN.” The frequencies requested are international AIS channels: 161.975 and 162.025 MHz (AIS 1 Marine VHF Channel 87 and AIS 2 Marine VHF Channel 88B, respectively)

• Intellibs filed an application for special temporary authority to test WiMAX in indoor and outdoor environments. The user-experience in general, and handover in particular, will be evaluated. Operation will be on 2624.25-2640.25 MHz.

• ShawnTech Communications filed an application (with supporting exhibits) for special temporary authority to operate on US cellular and PCS bands (in the 800 and 1900 MHz regions) in Ridgeville, South Carolina. Confidentially was requested by the applicant for some exhibits, so there is not much detail available. The geographic coordinates resolve to a prison. As part of its business, ShawnTech provides communications systems to prisons. This may be a test of technology to suppress unauthorized cellphone use by inmates.

• Mustang Technology Group filed an application (with supporting exhibit) for experimental license to test a pulsed Doppler radar with a variable duty cycle from 1% to 25%, capable of frequency hopping in the frequency range of 33.5 – 35.5 GHz. This radar is to be used for development and refinement of detection and tracking capabilities.

• Raytheon Network Centric Systems filed an application (with supporting exhibit) for experimental license to operate on 894-896 MHz, a band used for Air-Ground Radiotelephone Service. Raytheon maintains an FAA-approved repair station for the MagnaStar digital telephone system, which is designed for aviation applications.  There is not much detail in the application, and I expect FCC staff to ask for more. For now, it seems that operation under the requested license is intended to support these repair services, which would be an unusual use of an experimental authorization.

• FreeFlight Systems filed an application for special temporary authority to operate on 978 MHz in support of development and testing of an Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) transmitter. ADS-B is a cooperative surveillance technique being developed as part of the Next-Generation Air Transportation System. FreeFlight sells a variety of ADS-B products.

• BelAir Networks filed an application (with associated exhibits, one confidential) for experimental license to operate at McCormick Place in Chicago on 1930-1990 MHz. From what can be gleaned, the company plans to demonstrate its model 100SP Strand Picocell at 4G World. This device is basically a small base station that can hang on a cable system, provide wireless services over both 3G and Wi-Fi, and leverage existing cable infrastructure for power and backhaul.

• ComTech Systems filed an application (with supporting exhibit) for special temporary authority to test its Transportable Fast Link Antenna product. Testing will be on 4400, 4700, and 4935 MHz.

• AAI / Textron Systems Corporation filed an application (with supporting exhibits) for experimental license to test its Aerosonde, a small (34 pounds) gas-powered Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS)  that supports tactical applications and scientific missions for the US military. Testing will be done at the NASA flight test range at Wallops Island, Virginia. Several frequencies will be used from 310 to 4999 MHz.

• Lockheed Martin filed an application (with associated exhibits) for experimental license to operate on 956-959 MHz in support of testing of “edge communications architecture.” This architecture is intended to provide robust, on-demand, end-to-end communications for tactical and first responders who currently have limited or no communications in the field. Moreover, the architecture is for applications in which the user may be unpredictable. The architecture attributes include low power, low probability of detection and interception, self-forming and healing, support of heterogeneous RF waveform/modulation schemes and heterogeneous data transport protocols, and fixed and mobile router/bridging nodes.

• ViaSat filed an application (with supporting exhibits) for experimental license for over-the-air testing of ViaSat’s SurfBeam 2 Consumer Satellite Terminal in advance of the launch of the ViaSat-1 satellite. Operation will be at 29.5-30.0 GHz. ViaSat says the “SurfBeam 2 terminal is a second generation consumer broadband terminal very similar to the current SurfBeam 1 terminals operating under Blanket License E050033 on the WildBlue-1 and ANIK-F2 satellites. The new SurfBeam 2 terminal is designed to take advantage of the higher performance of the ViaSat-1 satellite and is intended to offer higher data rates to the consumer while still meeting FCC 25.138 off-axis EIRP density requirements.” The reflector size is 77 x 72 cm and the nominal terminal EIRP at full power is 48.4 dBW. Tests will include throughput, RF performance, and modem performance.

• Commtact filed an application (with supporting exhibit) for experimental license to test a low-profile mobile satellite antenna system on 13.75-14.50 GHz and 27.50-30.00 GHz. Commtact says the system “combines transmission, reception and polarization tracking capabilities with advanced stabilization system, making it possible to build compact, low profile antennas that are suitable for various mobile platforms.”

• Harris filed an application (with supporting exhibit) for special temporary authority to test its Warfighter Information Network-Tactical (WIN-T) mobile ad hoc radio system. Harris describes WIN-T as the US Army’s on-the-move, high-speed, high-capacity backbone communications network, linking Warfighters on the battlefield with the Global Information Grid. Operation will be at 4.44-4.99 GHz and 14.50-15.35 GHz.

Harris files an application and supporting exhibits for Special Temporary Authority to test a wideband waveform operating at either 12 kHz bandwidth or 24 kHz bandwidth to allow faster data transfer at high frequencies (3171 to 14550 kHz). The FCC objects to some of the proposed frequencies.

The City of Chicago files an application and supporting exhibits requesting Special Temporary Authority to test a new helicopter-based wireless surveillance system using a Chicago Fire Department helicopter. The test would use a FLIR analog video camera, encoder, Firetide wireless mesh router, Troll Systems antenna, and several ground sites with Firetide radios. (4940-4990 MHz)

Skyport Global Communications has requested, and been granted, Special Temporary Authority to test X-band VSAT portable units for use in support of disaster relief by the United States Air Force Rome Air Development Center. The operation includes emergency communications in Haiti using the XTAR LANT satellite, a 4.8m hub in Houston and 1.2m portable VSAT units in upstate New York. The portable units will eventually be shipped to Haiti. (8324-8331 MHz)

Inlustro Tech requests Special Temporary Authority to test cell phone jamming technology in Puerto Rico in the 800-2100 MHz range. The FCC has requested more details.

Innovonix files an application and supporting exhibits for an Experimental Radio license to test radar on 35-36 GHz in sensor systems capable of detecting objects in foliage. The radar uses an agile beam steering deflector. The testing will focus on improving the linearity of the FM sweep used for the modulation of the carrier, address a saturation issue that can occur in the front end when high energy is received, and possibly test a dielectric lens to be used in conjunction with a horn antenna. The FCC requested more details, and Innovonix responded.

Rockwell Collins files an application and supporting exhibits for Experimental Radio license to test the DME-2100, a transponder-based radio navigation technology for air transport that measures distance by timing radio propagation delay. The request is for operation on 1025-1150 MHz, and the FCC has asked Rockwell Collins to coordinate some frequencies with the FAA.

Ducommun Technologies requests Special Temporary Authority to test a low power doppler vehicle speed radar to be used at the side of the road to measure vehicle speed in different lanes. (34.5-34.9 GHz)

Antenna manufacturer dbSpectra files an application and supporting exhibit to conduct tests of passive intermodulation distortion (sometimes called the rusty-bolt effect). Through long-term testing of production antennas, the company hopes to reduce this source of interference in land-mobile radio systems. Testing will occur on various VHF and UHF frequencies at Lewisville, Texas.

Mokulele Research Corp. requests Special Temporary Authority to test broadband TCP/IP connections on millimeter-wave frequencies (46.75-46.95 GHz) between a ground station and aircraft. Testing is to take place in Haleiwa, Hawaii. This is a demonstration for NASA.

SouthConn Technologies requests Special Temporary Authority to demonstrate a remote control and monitoring system for street lighting. Operation is to be on 910.500-919.625 MHz at San Jose, California.

Sportvision applies to test an auto race track wireless data system to provide communications between vehicles and base stations. The system allows TV viewers to see the location of the cars in real time; the vehicles are equipped with GPS receivers and other sensors that generate a data packet every 200 milliseconds. Operation will be at 2395-2400 MHz. An accompanying exhibit states the technology is derived from IEEE 802.11b hardware.

SRC applies to test several SR Hawk surveillance radar systems on 16.21-16.50 GHz at Syracuse, New York.

Vista Research applies to test a radar-based surveillance system on 9.3-9.5 GHz at several sites in California. An accompanying exhibit says test project takes Furuno marine radars, modifies signal processing algorithms, and makes them part of a land-based sensor system. The system is to be deployed by the US Army and other government agencies for detection, tracking, and classification of people and vehicles. This is one of several instances in the last few months of marine radar being repurposed for non-marine applications in an experiment.

Walmart files an application to conduct RFID testing in Rogers, Arkansas on various frequencies between 800 and 956 MHz. A supporting exhibit says the current Bentonville, Arkansas lab works on North American RFID reader standards and frequencies. The Rogers lab will conduct RFID tests on frequencies and power levels allowed for RFID in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. The goal of the research is to ensure that an RFID solution developed in the US can be deployed globally.