Gerald Whitney filed an application with exhibits for experimental license to test a prototype AM broadcast transmitter system covering 2-16 MHz at a carrier power of 1 kW. The system, part of a U.S. Department of Defense project, includes a frequency-agile transmitter, antenna tuning unit, and antenna. Testing will be done in Victor, New York.

Curtis-Wright Controls filed an application with exhibit for special temporary authority to demonstrate its 3d-Radar brand of ultra-wideband ground penetrating radar (GPR) for prospective non-federal customers as it awaits expected FCC grant of its Part 15 waiver request for the device. Operation will take place at various locations in the U.S. on 140-3000 MHz, with frequency notching to preclude transmissions in the bands 608-614 MHz, 1400-1427 MHz, 1660.5-1668.4 MHz, and 2690-2700 MHz, in accordance with an NTIA authorization. The company filed its Part 15 waiver request with the FCC in June 2010 seeking authorization to operate the device for non-federal use (ET Doc. No. 10-167). The company understands the FCC’s Office of Engineering and Technology is working on an order that would permit non-federal use of the device. The company notes that NTIA, with FCC coordination, has already approved the use of the device for federal use on a nationwide basis.

Carlson Wireless Technologies filed an application with exhibit for special temporary authority to test voice and data connections among multiple Chevron Oil oil-field facilities using TV white space frequencies. Test results will be compared to the performance of a current 900 MHz system. Operation will be at several California locations in the 174-216 MHz and 470-698 MHz bands.

Southern Methodist University filed an application with exhibits for experimental license to operate a cognitive radio testbed. The testbed is backed by a National Science Foundation grant.  Operation will be on several frequency bands between 400 MHz and 6100 MHz in the Dallas area. The testbed will be used to study wireless performance in mobile and stationary environments. Featured in the testbed is real-time multi-band operation, which can be used to aid design of context-aware and cognitive algorithms that use multiple frequency bands to adapt to dynamic environmental conditions. One goal of the research is to develop an open-access database of wireless performance in multiple scenarios.

L3 Nova Engineering filed an application with exhibits for experimental license to demonstrate a seismic activity sensor network. Testing will take place in Great Falls, Virginia on 420-440 MHz.

Sierra Nevada Corp. filed an application for special temporary authority to test equipment that will facilitate formation flight between two aircraft. This supports DARPA’s Global Hawk autonomous aerial refueling demonstration program that is intended to accomplish the first-ever fully autonomous rendezvous, refueling, and formation flying of two unmanned aircraft. Each node of the system consists of a GPS receiver, processor, and other equipment including the UHF data link that is the subject of this application; one node would transmit data to the other such that the receiving node would be able to calculate its position and orientation relative to the transmitting node. The testing will take place in Salt Lake City, Utah on 420.25-426.60 MHz.

Raytheon BBN Technologies filed an application for special temporary authority test distributed-transmit beamforming using RF modules developed under DARPA’s Precision Electronic Warfare (PREW) program. “Specifically, BBN Technologies seeks to demonstrate the capability to synchronize clocks from up to 10 RF modules remotely using UHF band frequencies, and project RF energy at specified frequencies that results in the coherent combining of focused power within a small geographic area of interest using the these radios to enable high data rate transmissions and longer ranges.” According to DARPA, “the goal of the Precision Electronic Warfare (PREW) program is to demonstrate technologies and a prototype system that will enable the fielding of an ad hoc sparse array consisting of multiple airborne and/or ground nodes that can perform surgical jamming. The PREW system should be able to project RF energy that results in the coherent combining of focused power within a small geographic area of interest (AOI). When operating outside the AOI, the system must minimize the coherency of the RF energy to limit the impact to collateral systems.” Testing will occur at Sky Meadow State Park, Delaplane, Virginia on 437-493 MHz, 877-953 MHz, and 2400-2480 MHz.

Airvana filed an application with exhibit for experimental license to develop and test prototype LTE infrastructure equipment on 698-716 MHz, 728-757 MHz, 776-787 MHz, 806-824, MHz, 851-869 MHz, 1910-1915 MHz, and 1990-1995 MHz. Airvana says it will evaluate handoff performance among sectors, network capacity, quality of service, multi-path performance, average data rates, and interference performance. The testing is to take place nationwide.

Lockheed Martin filed an application with exhibits for experimental license to conduct testing in support of the Extended Area Protection System (EAPS) missile test program under sponsorship of the U.S. Army. The EAPS interceptor is a small ground-launched missile system under development as a performance demonstration program of hit-to-kill technology. The hardware requiring licensing consists of two systems. The first is the telemetry system providing downlink of flight telemetry data from the interceptor to a launch control trailer. The second is the unmanned ground system that provides uplink of flight control data from the launcher control trailer to the interceptor. Testing will take place in Texas on 2270.5, 2280.5, 2281.5, 4401.5, 4410.5, and 4411.5 MHz.

Bell Helicopter Textron filed an application with exhibits for experimental license to conduct testing and development in support of eventual unmanned helicopter flights. Testing will take place in the vicinity of Arlington, Texas on 2282.50 MHz.

Teletronics Technology Corp. filed an application with exhibits for special temporary authority to test a new transceiver with both OFDM and burst-mode shaped-offset QPSK (SOQPSK). The transceivers are said to provide “maximum transmission and reception distance under harsh environmental conditions.” Operation will be in the vicinity of Newtown, Pennsylvania on 2360-2390 MHz.

North American Eagle, a project testing the capability of a land-based vehicle to safely transition through supersonic speed, filed an application and exhibits for experimental license to operate a Wi-Fi network consisting of five Tropos model 7320 mesh routers mounted on eight-meter towers and one Tropos model 4310 mobile-mesh router mounted in the vehicle’s nose cone. Video and vehicle operational data will be sent to the base stations. Operation is to take place on dry lake beds near Black Rock, Nevada and Diamond Valley, Nevada on 2400-2483MHz (for data) and 5725-5850 MHz (for video). Transmitter output power will be 30 watts. (Wi-Fi at 800 MPH will be a challenge.)

Raytheon filed an application with exhibit for special temporary authority to test a critical-infrastructure-protection radars system. The system uses a 90-degree-quadrant staring radar with moving target indication designed for perimeter intrusion detection applications around secure facilities such as airports, seaports, utilities and other critical infrastructure. The system is based on Raytheon’s SR1500 Short-Range radar, which is under development. The plan is to deploy a network of low-power, short range (1.5 km) radars at fixed locations around critical infrastructure sites of the Port Authority for New York and New Jersey to provide perimeter security. An Ethernet-based network provides communication between multiple radar and electro-optic sensors. Testing will take place at various locations around New York City on 3100-3500 MHz.

L3 Communications filed an application and exhibits for special temporary authority to test a SONAR telemetry transmission system for military use. The system would send SONAR data from a small boat at a rate of 10 Mbps. The link will also carry video from cameras on the boat to allow operators to confirm normal operation of the hardware. The SONAR data and video will be transmitted to a larger manned ship at a range of a few miles. Testing will take place on the Pacific Ocean, between San Pedro and Catalina Island, in the bands 5200-5679 MHz and 5689-5800 MHz.

Laufer Wind Group filed an application with exhibits for experimental license to conduct tests in connection with the development of a radar-activated FAA obstruction lighting system for wind farms. Testing will take place in New York and New Hampshire on 9380-9440 MHz.

Lockheed Martin filed an application with exhibits for special temporary authority to evaluate Ku-band satellite technology for high-data-rate communication to helicopters. It intends to test ViaSat’s proprietary technology said to maintain the flow of data transmission in the presence of momentary path blockage from rotor blades. Test antennas will be mounted on stands underneath the rotor blades. Testing will be in Owego, New York on 14.0-14.5 GHz.

Raytheon filed an application with exhibit for special temporary authority to test a radar system for mobile surveillance system based on the DRS MSTAR commercial-off-the-shelf radar. The radar, in conjunction with electro-optical/infrared cameras, is intended for use in monitoring international borders. Testing will take place near McKinney, Texas on 16.75-17.25 GHz.

General Dynamics filed an application with exhibit for experimental license to operate an airborne radar system in support of ground imaging research using synthetic aperture radar techniques. Separate transmit and receive antennas would be mounted to a rotational pedestal on the underside of an aircraft. The gain of the antennas is 40 dB at 94 GHz, and they have a 1.5 degree half-power beamwidth in both the azimuth and elevation planes. The radar will use a pulsed linear-FM chirp waveform, centered at 94 GHz with a bandwidth of 600 MHz. The width of the waveform pulse will be approximately 20 microseconds and operate at a pulse repetition frequency of approximately 10 kHz. Peak ERP will be 5,000 Watts. Operation will be in the vicinity of Ypsilanti, Michigan.

Ducommun LaBarge Technologies filed an application with exhibits for experimental license to test its model SG-DDR50 security system, a directed-energy weapon that uses millimeter-wavelength energy to “stop, deter, turn back, and otherwise discourage a trespasser, thief, or belligerent and threatening person at relatively long distances.” “The system consists of an electrical power source, a device producing millimeter wavelength electromagnetic energy, an energy director projecting a narrow energy beam towards a target, and mounting and connecting equipment.” “The SG-DDR50 uses the susceptibility of skin nerve endings to millimeter-wavelength electromagnetic energy to report a sensation of intense undesirable heat on the skin of the person in the energy beam, all while doing no harm.” “The purpose of the experimental license is to align the system to operational specifications using infrared imaging of patterns on a sensitive carbon impregnated teflon [sic] target . . ..” Testing will occur in Huntsville, Arkansas on 94.5-95.0 GHz. Transmitter power and ERP are both specified as 800 Watts on the FCC application form. According to the applicant, “[t]he nature of this test configuration does not lend itself to be characterized by traditional measures, such as ERP, ERIP, Peak Power, and the like.”

Elite Electronic Engineering filed an application for special temporary authority to conduct radiated radio-frequency susceptibility testing on a cotton harvesting machine. The testing is intended to determine the ability of the vehicle to operate safely in its electromagnetic environment without any change in state, function, or performance. Testing is to take place near Kimballton, Iowa on various frequencies in the 20 MHz – 2.5 GHz range. The tests are to be done outdoors because a sufficiently-large indoor shielded test chamber could not be found. Sirius XM Radio objects to the proposed tests out of concern for potential harmful interference to its operations.

Alcatel-Lucent filed an application and exhibits for experimental license to study white-space communications implemented using existing air interfaces such as LTE along with cognitive radio sensing and dynamic spectrum management overlays. The fixed and mobile equipment will utilize a software-defined wideband digital radio (WDR) from Rutgers WINLAB. Operation will be on various TV channels in the 174-698 MHz band around Murray Hill, New Jersey.

Carlson Wireless filed several applications for temporary TV white space operation, including in Cordova, Alaska to test the use of TV white space in supporting remote telephony connections. Operation will be in TV bands 174-216 MHz and 470-680 MHz.

Niitek, Inc. filed an application and exhibits for special temporary authority to test ground penetrating radar (GPR) in Dulles and Charlottesville, Virginia on 200-7,000 MHz. The radar uses ultra-wideband (UWB) technology. The GPR is for use in a landmine detection system that has been procured by the U.S. Army for use in the Middle East. A variety of shielding and power control measures will be used to reduce the potential for interference to other radio services.

Lilee Systems filed an application and exhibits for experimental license to test a positive train control system consisting of three components: locomotive radio, wayside radio, and base-station radio. The company is developing a product family supporting the positive train control effort mandated by the Federal Railroad Administration. Operation will be in New York, New York on 217-222 MHz.

Chevron USA filed an application and exhibit for special temporary authority to test an experimental fixed-link communications system connecting offshore platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. In 2008, Chevron participated in FCC Auction No. 73 and was the high bidder for the 700 MHz band A (698-704/728-734MHz), B (704-710/734-740MHz), and E (722-728MHz) blocks covering the Gulf of Mexico.  The tests will be on 703.55-704.45 MHz and 733.55-734.45 MHz. The equipment that Chevron proposes to test has been certified internationally, but not for the lower 700 MHz band in the United States. If the tests are successful, the equipment manufacturer will seek certification from the FCC.  Chevron plans to use this equipment to enhance the capabilities of its point-to-multipoint WiMAX network and provide high-speed network connections to existing and future production platforms.

The Aerospace Corporation filed an application and exhibits for special temporary authority to operate a satellite link in support of research into the space application of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) components and related microelectronics technologies. The test includes a demonstration of principles of the physics of the low-earth-orbit space environment and its effects on MEMS microelectronics. The satellite weighs 11 pounds and its dimensions are 5x5x10 inches. It’s to be deployed during the last space shuttle mission, STS-135, which is now scheduled to launch July 12. The satellite has two radios for redundancy, both operating on 914.7 MHz, and both using an omni-directional patch antenna.

The Maryland Department of the Environment filed an application and exhibits for experimental license to use wind-profiling radar to study the transport of air pollutants such as ground-level ozone. The radar is a boundary-layer profiler, and depends on the scattering of a transmitted signal by irregularities in the index of refraction of the air caused by turbulent eddies in the wind. By receiving the scattered signal and determining the Doppler frequency, the speed of the wind can be determined. The radar consists of a vertically-looking antenna subsystem, a transmitter subsystem capable of unmodulated and phase-modulated pulses, a receiver subsystem, a signal processing subsystem performing target parameter extraction and identification, and a data processing/communication subsystem for charting, recording, and transmitting results.  Operation will be on 915 MHz at Cambridge, Maryland.

BAE Systems filed an application with exhibit for experimental license to operate on 1370-1390 MHz in Tucson, Arizona to test a new radio modem, transmitter, and receiver on the Silver Fox unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) as part of a U.S. military project.

LightSquared filed an application and exhibits for special temporary authority to conduct testing to determine the effects of L-band LTE signals on GPS devices in a live field-test environment. The testing is an outgrowth of the requirements established in FCC Order DA 11-133 granting LightSquared, a Mobile Satellite Service (MSS) licensee in the L-Band, a conditional waiver of the Ancillary Terrestrial Component (ATC) “integrated service” rule. The requested frequency bands include 1526-1536 MHz and 1545.2-1555.2 MHz.

Qualcomm filed an application and exhibits for experimental license to test time-division duplex (TDD) technology in San Diego, California and Bridgewater, New Jersey. Operation will be on 1,915-1,920 MHz. A single fixed transmitter will be installed and operated at each location. Mobile units will operate within a 5 mile radius of the fixed sites.

Western DataCom filed an application and exhibit for special temporary authority to test the range and throughput of a UMTS cellular-based system mounted to an aerostat. Operation will be at South Boston, Virginia on 1972.5 MHz and 2162.5 MHz, with the antenna about 800 meters above ground.

Powerwave Technologies filed an application and exhibits for experimental license to operate a small network to test LTE picocell technology, including aspects related to handover, QoS, power control, and resource scheduling. The test will take place in Santa Ana, California on 1,710-1,755 MHz and 2,110-2,155 MHz.

ETS Technologies filed an application and exhibits for experimental license to test non-line-of-sight wireless backhaul technology for 4G systems. Operation will be in San Jose, California on 3,700-4,200 MHz.

Qualcomm filed an application and exhibit for experimental license to test IEEE 802.11p Dedicated Short Range Communications (DRSC) mobile devices in Bridgewater, New Jersey and New York, New York. Operation will be on 5,850-5,925 MHz. DRSC is a short-range communications service for roadside-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-vehicle links that are part of the Intelligent Transportation System (ITS).  Compared to 3G or 4G mobile broadband, DSRC acts as a complement with higher data rates and lower latency over a small area. In addition to the DRSC tests, Qualcomm will evaluate new proprietary OFDM technology operating within the same DRSC channel bandwidths.

Lockheed Martin filed an application and exhibits for special temporary authority to test enhancements to an existing AN/APY-12 modular Ground Moving Target Indication (GMTI)/Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR). The enhancements are brought about by changes in operational requirements by the U.S. Army in Korea. This testing is required prior to integration and deployment of the radar system in an Airborne Reconnaissance Low (ARL) aircraft. The testing will involve detection and analysis of moving and fixed targets in open and urban settings. Testing will be on 9.297-9.903 GHz in Goodyear, Arizona and Hagerstown, Maryland.

Raytheon filed an application and exhibit for special temporary authority to conduct ground and airborne test and evaluation of design modifications and mode implementations to the APY-10 Radar. This product is for a direct commercial sale between Raytheon and Boeing, for a user in India. The modifications, required in part due to export restructions, reduce the accuracy of the radar by removing accumulated carrier phase measurement, removing 1 and 3 foot-resolution synthetic aperture radar (SAR) capability, and limiting performance to meet 30 meter SAR geo-location accuracy. Operation will be within 200 miles of Sherman, Texas on 9.350-10.150 GHz.

Niitek, Inc. filed an application and exhibits for special temporary authority to test a ground radio link intended to enhance the capability of the company’s landmine detection system. The system has been procured by the U.S. Army for use in Afghanistan. The enhancements provide data communication between a primary landmine detection vehicle and a second route-clearance vehicle. Operation will be on 14.7145-15.1365 MHz and on 15.1900 MHz.

• Virginia Tech filed an application with exhibits for experimental license to operate on several frequency bands: roughly, in the 160, 220, 410, 470, 800, 900, 1850, 1950, and 3500 MHz range. This is for its CORNET cognitive radio network test bed, which is for the use of researchers evaluating cognitive radio engines, sensing techniques, applications, protocols, performance metrics, and algorithms in a real-world environment. The test bed has 48 nodes distributed on four floors of a campus building. Nodes consist of an Ettus Research USRP2 software-defined radio (SDR), or similar, each with a wideband antenna.  Frequency, operating mode, and protocols are controlled by computer through a wired connection. “Mobile” units are used in the building to evaluate handoff and interference characteristics.

• BAE Systems filed an application with exhibit for special temporary authority to test a new version of the Army’s Ground Mobile Radio. Testing will take place in Wayne, New Jersey on 287 and 425 MHz.

• The University of Wyoming filed an application with exhibits for experimental license to operate radios on 401.65 MHz in support of sage-grouse research in the Bighorn Basin of Wyoming. The study will monitor the effects of bentonite clay mining on sage-grouse by comparing hen survival, nest survival, and brood survival in an area actively mined to a reference area where mining is not taking place. The study will monitor the movement of about 50 birds in each study area. Each sage-grouse will be fitted with a 22-gram solar-powered integrated GPS receiver and UHF transmitter manufactured by Microwave Telemetry. The device records two-dimensional location data and transmits it at intervals.

• L3 Communications filed an application with exhibits on behalf of the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) for special temporary authority to conduct demonstrations of prototype cognitive radio technology developed by university researchers and funded by NIJ. The technology is being developed to improve public safety and law enforcement communications.  Frequency bands around 462, 769, 799, 2412, 4940, and 5150 MHz will be used. The demonstrations include cognitive channel management, radio-channel waveform identification, and reconfigurable OFDM waveforms.

• Raytheon Network Centric Systems filed an application with exhibit for special temporary authority to test a high-speed data-gateway radio system that operates in TV white space. It uses 12 channels, each 1.2 MHz wide. Operation will be in several California cities on 470-698 MHz (TV channels 14-51).

• General Dynamics filed an application with exhibit for experimental license to test digital data links for the use of unmanned aircraft systems (UASs). The new links are designed to allow higher concentrations of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the same battle space. Testing will occur in South Carolina and Vermont on 1760-1850 and 2202-2290 MHz.

• TerreStar filed an application with exhibit for special temporary authority to operate a prototype transceiver for automobiles. TerreStar operates a 2 GHz satellite (TerreStar-1). In connection with providing services over the satellite, TerreStar is working with a vendor to develop and bring to market an automotive kit composed of a transceiver and a cradle for TerreStar’s GENUS satellite smartphone (currently marketed as Satellite Augmented Mobility (SAM) by AT&T). The transceiver and cradle will be mounted in an automobile and a roof-mounted antenna added. The transceiver will transmit on 2005-2010 MHz using linear polarization and will receive on 2195-2200 MHz using left-hand circular polarization; these frequency bands have been allocated for use by TerreStar-1 to provide mobile satellite service (MSS). Operation will be at various locations throughout the continental United States.

• ZAI filed an application with exhibit for special temporary authority to test an ultra-wideband (UWB) vehicle-mounted radar system for identifying roadside threats and obstacles. The hardware is manufactured by Time Domain Corporation and operates on 3100-5600 MHz. Testing will be done in Jefferson, Maryland. The device generates a signal that is pulse-position modulated; the position of the modulated pulse varies randomly in time producing an approximate Gaussian noise signal.

• Integral Systems Inc. filed an application with exhibits for experimental license to test a transportable Rapid Attack Identification Detection Reporting System (RAIDRS). RAIDRS consists of a central operating location and a variety of transportable antennas deployed around the world to detect, characterize, geolocate, and report sources of RF interference to U.S. military and commercial satellites. In the test, the RAIDRS will be connected to a transportable satellite terminal and linked to an earth station through an X-band or Ku-band satellite transponder. Link quality will be measured and recorded continuously to isolate any communications link failures. Data rates for the test will be 4352 and 8192 Kbps. Operation will be on 7.9-8.4 and 14.0-14.5 GHz.

• Teledyne Brown Engineering filed an application with exhibits for special temporary authority to experiment with Degraded Visual Environment (DVE) radar, intended to allow helicopter pilots to have a visual representation of the ground when it is obscured. It also serves as an altimeter. Testing will take place on 35.2 GHz at Huntsville, Alabama.

• Google filed an application for special temporary authority to conduct experiments of advanced driver assistance systems it’s developing. Each test vehicle contains several radars, operating in the 76.0-77.0 GHz band, that are used to sense the environment. The vehicles will be driven through a variety of traffic situations, including along freeways, on urban streets, and through complex intersections. Google suggests one test would be for the case when a vehicle is about to make a right turn on to a busy road; a left-sensing radar would inform the vehicle to allow high-speed traffic to pass before proceeding.

• Lockheed Martin filed an application (with associated exhibits) for experimental license to operate on 76, 78, 4590, and 4640 MHz in Orlando, Florida to demonstrate and collect operational information from voice and data communication links between a fixed ground station and a rotary-wing aircraft. Testing will use a Raytheon model RT-1808A transceiver for the lower frequencies, and an L3 Communications model 60057879+001 transmitter for the higher frequencies.

• Motorola filed an application (with supporting exhibit) for experimental license to test a prototype radio system designed to support the internal communications requirements, including those related to public safety, an electric power generation and transmission cooperative in Kentucky. Motorola wants to demonstrate the functionality and capability of the system, determine user acceptability, and get feedback for improvement. Operation will be on 151.4725-154.5675 MHz and 157.1875-162.9625 MHz in 26 locations.

• Carson Wireless filed an application (with associated exhibits) to conduct testing of TV white space devices on 174-216 and 470-698 MHz at Klamath, California. Equipment to be used is manufactured by Koos Technical Services and includes a base stations connected to the internet. The base stations provide 3 Mbps connections (using FSK modulation) to fixed client devices. One goal is demonstrate a practical solution for providing broadband connectivity in a rural community, including in challenging terrain. Applications for utilities are to be tested as part of the experiment.

• Telephonics Corporation filed an application (with associated exhibit) for experimental license to operate on 200-400 MHz at Farmingdale, New York. The company has an existing product, the TruLink Wireless Intercommunication System, that operates in the 2.4 GHz ISM band and is currently used by US Armed Forces. The experimental operation is to support a redevelopment of the product for use on the Armed Forces’ “preferred” band. The FCC has instructed the applicant to coordinate frequency use with the FAA which operates on 328.6-335.4 MHz, and with NTIA’s Military Assignment Group as the bands 225-328.6 MHz and 335.4-399.9 MHz are used for military purposes.

• NIITEK filed an application (with accompanying exhibits) for special temporary authority to operate on 200-7000 MHz to develop a ground-penetrating radar (GPR) that uses ultra-wideband (UWB) technology. The GPR is a component of NIITEK’s landmine detection system designed to detect and locate various buried explosive devices, including mines and improvised explosive devices (IEDs). The system is for use by the US Army in the Middle East.

• Microsoft filed an application (with associated exhibits) for experimental license to conduct testing of TV white-space fixed devices on 470-698 MHz. The system will consist of one base station and five access points operating at 10 Mbps using OFDM modulation. One goal is to show how TV white-spaces equipment provides broadband coverage and connectivity within a home or neighborhood network, even in non-line-of-sight environments. Applications for utilities will be part of the test.

• Qualcomm filed an application for special temporary authority to test UMTS technology in Manhattan on three frequency bands: 722-728, 1720-1730, and 2120-2130 MHz.

• Wireless Seismic filed an application (with associated exhibit) for experimental license to operate on 2400.0-2483.5 MHz in all 50 states. The company is a provider of seismic data acquisition systems, and is finalizing development of a new wireless networking product that will connect geophones used to record acoustic reflections off underground layers. (Those reflections are used to determine the presence of oil and natural gas fields.) The equipment replaces that using wired connections. The system will soon be sent for equipment authorization, and before that the applicant wants to test it in typical deployments to confirm its operational capability.

• Raysat Antenna Systems filed an application (with associated exhibit) for experimental license to test up to five Land Mobile Satellite Service (LMSS) earth stations in the 11.7-12.2 and 14.0-14.5 GHz bands. (There is a discrepancy between the frequencies listed on the application form and in the exhibit.) The earth stations are to communicate with the AMC-5 and AMC-6 satellites at 79° W.L. and 72° W.L., respectively. The satellites will also communicate with the Spacenet hub earth station in McLean, Virginia. This testing is in in connection with a Department of Defense/Logistics Innovation Agency satellite communications program contract. Part of the test is the applicant’s SR-70 antenna for mobile applications, featuring a 6 inch-by-6 inch antenna panel array capable of simultaneous transmission and reception within the 11.7-12.7 and 14.0-14.5 GHz bands. The antenna allows tracking in three axes: azimuth, elevation and polarization.

• Ingegneria Dei Sistemi filed an application for special temporary authority to operate on 17.1-17.3 GHz at Bingham Canyon, Utah. The company has developed a system, based on microwave interferometry, for monitoring displacement of land and structures, and wants to demonstrate land-slope-stability monitoring at an open-pit mine. The demonstration is to show that the system can monitor land movement as slow as a few millimeters per month.

• In connection with a US Army contract, Battelle filed an application (with associated exhibits) for experimental license to test a millimeter-wave communications system at 95-105 GHz having a data rate of 10 Gbps. Testing was to have been done at several locations in Ohio. The FCC dismissed this application, however, due to “potential harmful interference to Federal Government operations.”

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.

• David Miller, an MIT professor, filed an application (with associated exhibits) for experimental license to operate a CASTOR (Cathode/Anode Satellite Thruster for Orbital Repositioning) series satellite to validate the performance and application of Diverging Cusped Field Thruster (DCFT) technology. This will be achieved by taking on-orbit state data to compare the degradation experienced by the DCFT to that of similar technologies such as Hall thrusters. Operation is to be on 2.4000-2.4835 GHz, which will be used to download telemetry and uplink commands. The ground station will be on Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands.

• SouthConn filed an application for special temporary authority to demonstrate a streetlight control and monitoring system on 910.500-919.625 MHz. Under the system, each light is fitted with a radio device that communicates with a central site, so lights can be managed down to an individual level. The technology is similar to that used for Automatic Meter Reading (AMR).

• The University of California Berkley filed an application (with supporting exhibit) for special temporary authority to conduct testing related to the OpenBTS project, which aims to provide open-source, lightweight, low-cost GSM base stations for underserved areas. The Computer Science department hopes to create a GSM base station optimized for low-density rural areas in Sub-Saharan Africa. Testing will be in the 890-960 MHz range.

• The Virginia Tech Mobile Portable Research Group (MPRG) filed an application (with supporting exhibits) for experimental license to test white-space devices on the TV broadcast bands — 174-216, 512-608, and 614-698 MHz. In particular, the MPRG is interested in determining what modulation schemes prove to be most effective in rejecting narrowband interference from devices such as wireless microphones. In addition, it is interested in determining what kinds of adverse effects white-space devices will have on devices such as wireless microphones, and what steps can be taken to mitigate such interference.

• 4-D Security Solutions filed an application (with supporting exhibit) for experimental license to test a Telephonics model MR2020 radar at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey. The applicant has a research contract with the school to develop a system using the radar to detect small watercraft on inland waterways such as the Hudson River. The application is homeland security. Operation is to be on 8750-8950 MHz.

• Metric System Corporation filed an application for special temporary authority to operate a 40-node wireless network on white-spaces frequencies in the 512-698 MHz TV band. This is in support of a Rice University project.

UWB, as authorized by the FCC, operates across 3.1 to 10.6 GHz, with very low power at any one frequency; its tendency to cause or receive interference is very low.

IEEE 802 attempted to create a UWB standard in IEEE 802.15.3a but did not, as neither of two competing proposals reached the necessary voting threshold for approval. One of the competing proposals, Multi-band Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (MB-OFDM), has since seen some consumer success in Wireless USB, which is based on a platform maintained by the WiMedia Alliance; data rates are up to 480 Mbps at a range of about 10 feet.

UWB was eventually standardized in IEEE 802.15.4a, where it exists as an alternative physical-layer to standard IEEE 802.15.4-2006, a standard for very low power, low data rate devices. (The IEEE 802.15.3 family is for higher data rates with higher power consumption.) It uses what was the other competing proposal in 802.15.3a, Direct Sequence UWB (DS-UWB). This standardized form of UWB has been commercialized for asset tracking and other location services, but not yet for consumer applications.

As Lazarus says, though UWB is successful in several applications outside the home, it has not made as much progress in the consumer market. A big reason for this is that UWB’s competitors were not so encumbered with regulatory and standardization delays.

• Standard IEEE 802.11n-2009 (high-throughput Wi-Fi) was approved a year ago with uncoded bit rates up to 600 Mbps in a 40 MHz bandwidth at 2.4 or 5 GHz.

• The Wireless Home Digital Interface (WHDI), which operates in 40 MHz of bandwidth in the 5 GHz unlicensed band, was standardized late last year by the WHDI Consortium. The targeted market is transmission of uncompressed (better-quality) HD video, with data rates up to 3 Gbps. IEEE 802 was not involved, though the technology is similar to 802.11n.

• There are two new millimeter-wave technologies that offer multi-gigabit data rates. These 60-GHz technologies are not direct competitors with UWB, but some overlap in applications could emerge. The data rates are much higher, but 60 GHz is blocked by most any obstruction, and power consumption is high making it unsuitable for mobile devices at this time. As with WHDI, the main market is the transmission of uncompressed HD video.

WirelessHD operates in the 57-64 GHz unlicensed band and is based on the IEEE 802.15.3c-2009 standard that was published about a year ago. The Wireless Gigabit Alliance is another 60 GHz proponent; its specification is to be based on the IEEE 802.11ad standard, which is under development and should be completed around the end of 2012.

If someone tried to standardize UWB in IEEE 802.15.3 today, they would have a better chance of success due to meeting process improvements. In making decisions in IEEE 802, it has traditionally been one-person, one-vote. That has sometimes motivated companies to send as many as possible to the standards meetings so they can earn voting rights and vote as a block, a practice frowned on by ANSI, IEEE 802’s accrediting body. Since the failure of the UWB standardization in 802.15.3, and because of evidence of block voting in other groups, IEEE 802 has modified its voting procedures to make block-voting harder. Everyone participating in the meetings now has to declare an “affiliation,” the definition of which is carefully worded to lead to the primary entity paying the participant. Consultants, for example, have to declare affiliation with their client, not their consulting firm; they often didn’t do this before. If roll-call votes show evidence of block voting, the group may be switched to entity voting (e.g., one company, one vote). That helps. IEEE 802.20 got bogged down, switched to entity voting, instantly made progress and completed its standard.

With these and further process improvements, IEEE 802 is a good home for these unlicensed standards. One advantage is that all IEEE 802 wireless projects are required to address coexistence with other IEEE 802 wireless standards. That’s hard, as many are using the same spectrum, but the affected groups sometimes can make accommodations with each other to reduce mutual interference. Also, many companies prefer the more-open process of an accredited standards development organization. The decision to go it alone or with a proprietary specification, however, is ultimately a business decision.

UWB remains unique in terms of its interference-resistant characteristics. As more RF devices enter the home, as they will with increased machine-to-machine communications, UWB could help as the more-popular relatively-narrowband devices increasingly interfere with each other. UWB may then become successful in the home out of necessity, if not as an option.

• Polytechnic Institute of NYU filed an application (with supporting exhibit) for experimental license to conduct a network research project using WiMAX on 2535-2540 MHz. This is part of the nationwide Global Environment for Network Innovations (GENI) project, a suite of infrastructure that will support experimental research in network science and engineering. GENI is supported by the National Science Foundation and managed by the GENI Project Office at BBN Technologies.

• Mnemonics, Inc. filed an application (with supporting exhibits) for experimental license to operate in support of a research project that is to develop and demonstrate the viability of wirelessly extracting measured data from a network of passive surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensor devices. This sensing technique is said to have several advantages over existing sensors, including no wired connections needed to extract data, no power requirements, operation up to 1000 degrees C., and sensor cost in-quantity in the tens of cents each. Operation will be on 915 MHz.

• Worcester Polytechnic Institute filed an application (with supporting exhibits) for special temporary authority to operate on 512-608 and 614-698 MHz. This is in support of research and evaluation of equipment that uses radio-location technology to precisely identify the location of firefighters and firefighter deployed sensors within a building.

• Zimmerman Associates filed an application (with supporting exhibits) for special temporary authority to test prototype equipment that uses ultra wideband (UWB) technology developed by Time Domain Corporation. The equipment generates a signal that is pulse position modulated. The position of the modulated pulse varies randomly in time producing an emission that approximates Gaussian noise. The nominal center frequency of the signal is 4.4 to 4.5 GHz with the half power point bandwidth at 3.1 to 5.6 GHz. The radiated power of the device is below the general limits set forth in Part 15. This testing is in support of a U.S. Army contract.

• The Moment Lab, University of California, Santa Barbara filed an application (with supporting exhibit) for experimental license to conduct experimentation regarding use of the TV white spaces. The Lab seeks to evaluate its solutions for modulation and coding scheme and channel width adaptation on long-distance (rural) white-space links. Operation will be on 512-608 and 614-698 MHz.

• Panasonic Avionics Corporation filed an application (with supporting exhibit) for experimental license  to conduct ground testing in support of Panasonic’s Global Communications Suite (GCS) featuring the “eXconnect” Ku-band aeronautical mobile-satellite service (AMSS) system supporting wireless connectivity for devices such as GSM phones and Wi-Fi enabled laptops. Using low-power wireless transceivers onboard aircraft, GCS processes passenger communications for transmission to ground networks via satellite communications networks. Operation will be on various frequencies between 421 and 5825 MHz.

• Ingegneria Dei Sistemi S.p.a. filed an application for special temporary authority to operate equipment for landslide monitoring as part of a demonstration for the US Geological Survey. The equipment is classified in Europe as a portable Short range Device (SRD) as it said to be compatible with primary services. Compliance testing of this equipment with the applicable requirements in the US, however, has not been yet been accomplished. Operation will be on 17.1-17.3 GHz.

• DRS EW & Network Systems filed an application for special temporary authority to test identification, friend or foe (IFF) equipment that is being developed under a contract with Italian Air Force. Operation is between 1030 and 1090 MHz.

• Boundary County Community Television filed an application (with supporting exhibits) for experimental license to operate using vacant spectrum in the television broadcast bands (white spaces) for the testing of fixed white-space devices. Boundary County Community Television is working jointly with Spectrum Bridge in investigating the usefulness of available white space (UHF/VHF) spectrum by providing “rural broadband access and support of video, sensor, low power AM broadcast radio using IP streaming, Wi-Fi access and medical records exchange.” The two companies will also be working with the U.S. Customs and Forest Service in application development and evaluation. Operation will be on 174-216, 470-608, and 614-698 MHz near Bonners Ferry, Idaho.

• Magna Electronics filed an application (with supporting exhibits), apparently for experimental license (the application form is not available at this time). Magna Electronics says it is developing an automotive 77 GHz radar for use in the reduction of vehicular accidents through situational awareness. Research is underway to detect forward objects of interest that may cause an accident, to either warn the driver or autonomously brake the vehicle to reduce the impact energy. Magna also notes that over 1.8 million rear end collisions are reported in the United States annually; this is more than 1/3 of all reported accidents and is the leading accident type.

• Dell Marketing filed an application (with supporting exhibits) for special temporary authority to conduct market studies that focus on consumer acceptability of mobile digital television transmitted using the ATSC A/153 standard. This authority applies only to reception devices.  Transmission will be made from regularly licensed TV stations. The reception devices to be used in the test (up to 1000 specially configured Dell Netbook computers) will include tuners for the reception of ATSC A/53 conventional DTV signals and ATSC A/153 mobile DTV signals but not analog tuners. Frequencies to be used include 54-72, 76-88, 174-216, and 470-698 MHz.

According to Dell, “The receivers at issue are not to be sold directly to the public. Instead,, the receivers are to be sold to Dell commercial customers who, as a result of the tests they are to conduct, will be able to provide feedback as to such issues as the field performance of the receivers, acceptability of the user interface, consumer expectations and acceptability of possible prices (e.g. “Would you be willing to pay _____ for this device, provided that it includes DTV/MDTV reception capability?”), consumer use data (hours per day of viewing, principle reasons for viewing, reasons for stopping viewing), and perceived value of the service.”

Dell also says “Half of the proposed units will be sold to a major multi-channel video programming provider for use in a test in which the provider will make the receivers available to selected consumers who agree to participate in the test. The others are to be made available for sale to broadcast television transmission equipment makers who will provide them to broadcast stations for demonstration and consumer feedback purposes in connection with the launch of mobile television service this summer. In both cases, a condition of Dell’s sale will be to provide Dell feedback that will assist Dell in both product design and marketing, including being able to set initial prices should the Commission agree ultimately to permit the widespread marketing of portable receivers without analog tuners that are designed for on-the-go reception and are powered primarily from batteries.”

• Alcatel-Lucent filed an application (with associated exhibits) for experimental license to operate on various frequencies between 698 and 2155 MHz to evaluate LTE technology over-the-air. Specific tests are to include validation of call processing, handoffs, power control, and data scheduler algorithms.

• Inmarsat Hawaii filed an application (with supporting exhibits) for experimental license to conduct technical demonstrations using new, pre-production Global Satellite Phone Service (“GSPS”) prototype handsets, test these handsets in connection with their production and the deployment of other parts of the GSPS network, and otherwise develop radio techniques, equipment, operational data and engineering data related to GSPS. Inmarsat Hawaii says that “GSPS will be a highly competitive offering in terms of hardware costs, airtime rates and service quality, with a strong combination of form and functionality that Inmarsat believes will change the landscape in the provision of the mobile satellite services. The requested experimental authority would facilitate the introduction of GSPS to the U.S. by enabling Inmarsat to develop the technical expertise to extend and enhance existing uses of L-band spectrum through the introduction of GSPS.”

• Associated Air Center filed an application for special temporary authority to perform electromagnetic interference susceptibility tests to demonstrate that the use of on-board cell phones do not cause interference on any electrical equipment installed on the aircraft while on the ground. “A direct influence on the aircrafts navigation and communication systems is not expected, but a susceptibility investigation is considered neccessary [sic] as the electromagnetic field levels are in close vicinity of the signal source might raise to levels that cause interference. The testing will concentrate on demonstrating the electromagnetic compatibility of RF bands used for CDMA, GSM, PDC and UMTS cell phones within a aircraft environment [sic].” Operation will be on various frequencies between 410 and 2700 MHz.

• Booz Allen Hamilton filed an application for special temporary authority to evaluate the RF performance of commercial IEEE 802.16e (Mobile WiMAX) equipment for United States Air Force Global Broadcast Service applications. Operation is to be on 2620.250-2628.500 MHz.

• Raytheon Network Centric Systems filed an application for special temporary authority to test a Ground Surveillance Radar (GSR) system, intended to provide all-weather detection and tracking capability for facility/critical infrastructure and border security programs. Operation is to be on 3100-3500 MHz.

• Vexcel, a Microsoft subsidiary, filed an application (with associated exhibits) for experimental license to demonstrate a specialized short range, low power trailer-mounted radar system that illuminates a rock wall next to a highway and maps the surface profile in detail. Vexcel says that this technique can be used to detect potential dangerous rockfalls that could damage vehicles and travelers on the adjacent highway. Operation is to be on 10.7-11.2 GHz.

As background, Vexcel says that in October 2007, it “made a presentation to the Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHA) office proposing the use of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) technology for the detection and monitoring of rock fall and landslides on steep slopes that border busy transportation corridors. Vexcel had previously demonstrated through software simulation that integrating the interferometric SAR data processing technique into a ground-based system would enable the measurement of surface displacements on the order of a millimeter at stand-off distances of up to several hundred meters. Since surface displacements are a precursor to rock wall failure, the ability to measure surface displacement over time yields a capability to predict wall failures. This predictive capability would enable transportation authorities to schedule mitigation activities during low traffic periods thereby minimizing the risk to life and limb of rock wall failures and significantly reducing their negative economic impacts.”

“To properly verify the system operation, Vexcel needs to measure several different types of rock formations. To do this, the system will be installed on a trailer which can be towed to each experimental site. A drawing depicting the trailer system is shown in Figure 1. Directional horn antennas are used to transmit and receive the radar’s radio frequency signal. The antennas are mounted on a linear rail system and are moved horizontally and vertically along the rails. The motion is such that the antenna pointing direction is not changed during operation. The horizontal rail allows for 5 meters of motion. The vertical rail allows for 1.6 meter of motion. The antenna’s highest position above the ground during operation is 2.6 meters.”

• TWC Wireless, the wireless division of Time Warner Cable, filed an application (with supporting exhibits) for experimental license to test WiMAX (IEEE 802.16e) equipment and applications over-the-air. These tests are intended to support system, application and device development, as well as quality assurance. Operation is to be on 2513-2535 MHz.

• L-3 Communications Linkabit Division filed an application (with associated exhibits) for experimental license to conduct a series of experiments with HF and VHF multiband radio equipment. The purpose of the experiment is to confirm performance of the equipment against engineering specifications, characterize field performance of the equipment, and rehearse scripted equipment demonstrations in support of marketing activities. Operation is to be on various frequencies from 1.8 to 107.5 MHz. The communications will be primarily voice with very limited digital data. Also, encrypted (AES 256) and unencrypted communications will be evaluated. Upon successful conclusion of the experiments, the equipment will be offered for sale worldwide, subject to US export regulations.

• Morehead State University filed an application for special temporary authority to operate a ground station and characterize the Mini-RF radar instrument, one of seven instruments on NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). The LRO is currently orbiting the Moon. The science team has a program requirement to characterize the transmit and receive paths of the Mini-RF instrument on a regular basis. The characterizations require one week of testing and repeated every 9-12 months. Operation is to be on various frequencies from 2370 to 7150 MHz.

• Telcordia Technologies filed an application (with supporting exhibit) for experimental license to conduct testing on 495-505 and 525-535 kHz in support of deliverables under a Department of Defense research program for the Laboratory of Telecommunication Sciences. The project includes experiments to better understand vulnerabilities of critical infrastructure to natural and man-made phenomena. In particular, Telcordia proposes to conduct experiments on the impact of radio frequency interference (RFI) into advanced communications services such as broadband access. It proposes to do this by running short term transmission experiments at a number of locations using conventional AM transmissions, but just below the commercial AM band to avoid interference with commercial broadcasts.

This summarizes a selection of applications for the Experimental Radio Service received by the FCC during April 16 – April 30, 2010. These are related to GPS, ultra-wideband, high-frequency radar, mobile satellite antennas, and flight test telemetry.

• Starling Advanced Communications filed an application (with supporting exhibits) for special temporary authority to test vehicle-mounted Ku-band transmit/receive satellite terminals. Data rates will vary from 128 kbps to 2 Mbps. The tests will use the following satellites: Horizons-1 at 127° W.L., Galaxy 17 at 91° W.L., Galaxy 19 at 97° W.L., and Galaxy 16 at 99° W.L.. Operation will be on 14.0 – 14.5 GHz.

• The Los Angeles County Sherriff’s Department filed an application for which all details are not publicly available due to a request for confidentiality. From available exhibits, it seeks to conduct field testing and evaluation of a through-the-wall surveillance radar prototype developed by Akela, Inc. It appears operation will be in the band 500-3600 MHz.

• The Geophysical Institute of the University of Alaska Fairbanks, filed an application (with supporting exhibits) for experimental license to operate equipment in support of the SuperDARN radar network, which is used for research on the upper atmosphere. The equipment to be used is in prototype form from Leicester University in the UK. Operation is to be on various frequencies from 8 to 20 MHz.

• DRS Codem Systems filed an application for which confidentiality was requested. From available exhibits, the test seems to involve the company’s DRS’s X-Band vehicle-mounted satellite-terminal antenna system.

• Blue Origin, an aerospace research and development company developing commercial space launch vehicle technology, filed an application (with supporting exhibit) for experimental license to support command and telemetry communications testing in support of its New Shepard project, which consists of two vehicles that are attached at launch but separate during flight. Blue Origin conducts flight testing of these vehicles at its test facility in Culberson County, Texas. Each vehicle needs a separate command and telemetry link. Blue Origin already has authorizations for 2069 MHz, 2202 MHz and 2250 MHz. This application adds 2042 MHz.

• Raytheon Missile Systems filed an application (with supporting exhibit) for experimental license for missile communications testing. Three radio systems related to range safety are to be tested, and include a Flight Terminate Receiver operating on 420-430 MHz, an S-Band Telemetry transmitter operating on 2200-2290, 2310-2369, and 2360-2390 MHz, and a C-Band transponder operating on 5400-5900 MHz.

• Greenwood Telecommunications Consultants filed an application (and supporting exhibit) for experimental license to test an in-building GPS navigation network solution developed by Insiteo SA, a French company. Operation is to be on 1563-1589 MHz.

• Lockheed Martin filed an application for special temporary authority to test strategies to mitigate the impact of co-frequency Radionavigation Satellite Service (e.g., GPS) signals on the operation of a TPS77 radar signal. Operation will be on 1215-1400 MHz.