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.”

First, note that the FCC’s NPRM on changing the experimental licensing rules was published in the Federal Register on February 8. That means the comment deadlines are set. Comments are due March 10, and Reply Comments are due April 11. Consider filing comments in support of relaxed rules for industry as well as for academia. A few good comments have been filed already.  I point to the comments of Hans Schantz as exemplary.

On to the applications, which I list in order of frequency:

• BAE Systems Information and Electronic Systems Integration Inc. filed an application (with supporting exhibit) for special temporary authority to operate in Wayne, New Jersey on several frequency bands between 27 and 2003 MHz. This is to support development of a more cost-efficient and robust Ground Mobile Radio system for the Army.

• Raytheon Missile Systems filed an application (with supporting exhibit) for special temporary authority to conduct propagation tests in Tucson, Arizona on the following frequencies: 86, 87.5, 87.7, and 87.9 MHz (in the broadcast band). This is to aid in the development of transmission systems on those frequencies. (For a missile company, an unusual band in which to conduct experiments.)

• Michigan Technological University Aerospace Enterprise filed an application (with supporting exhibit) for experimental license to operate on 145.97, 435.52, and 2400.0-2483.5 MHz to support the Oculus-ASR satellite project. The frequencies are for downlink control at 1200 bps, uplink control at 1200 bps, and downlink image data at 230 kbps, respectively. “Oculus-ASR is a nanosatellite currently being developed to aid in the advancement of U.S. Space Situational Awareness as part of the University Nanosatellite Program. The program gives students the opportunity to work with industry sponsors in an effort to construct the best nanosatellite in a nationwide competition, hosted by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL).”

• Carlson Wireless Technologies filed an application (with supporting exhibit) for special temporary authority to test a TV white space system using a TV broadcaster’s tower. The intent is to show how white space and broadcasting radios can coexist without objectionable interference. Operation is requested on 174-216 MHz (TV channels 7-13) in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

• Harris filed an application (with supporting exhibits) for special temporary authority to conduct field testing of software-defined radio (SDR) equipment in Melbourne, Florida on 232.375, 300.375, and 362.250 MHz. The testing will verify line-of-sight communication capabilities of radios ultimately deployed by the military abroad. This testing precedes more stressful at Army test ranges.

• BAE Systems Unmanned Aircraft Programs Inc. filed an application (with supporting exhibit) for experimental license to develop radio link equipment used in the unmanned aircraft systems operated by military branches for command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance  (C4ISR) applications. More specifically, the testing will involve the testing of a Microhard Systems model MHX320 wireless modem at BAE Systems’ factory in Tucson, Arizona. The MHX320 is a 310 to 390 MHz frequency hopping modem, which can be optimized for long distance communications of over 60 miles with throughput up to 230 kbps. Testing will be on 310.0-328.6 and 335.4-390.0 MHz.

• Raytheon Network Centric Systems filed an application (with supporting exhibit) for special temporary authority to test its Aurora and Wireless IP-capable Network (WIPN) radios, which provide a Mobile Adhoc Network (MANET) data network capability able to provide effective throughput up to 11 Mbps. Operation will be on 420-450 MHz in Fort Wayne, Indiana. This may be related to DARPA’s Mobile Ad-Hoc Interoperable Network GATEway (MAINGATE) program, which was initiated to develop systems required to enable network-centric warfare among Coalition and U.S. Forces, as well as to facilitate military operations with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and first responders.

• Stark Aerospace filed an application (with supporting exhibits) for experimental license to test a remotely piloted aircraft for public safety and military applications.  Communications from ground to aircraft is by two uplink modes; a primary mode and a backup mode. The primary mode uses the bands 4500-4800 and 4940-4990 MHz. The backup uses the 465-510 MHz band. No information on the downlink is found.

• 4 Tech Media filed an application (with supporting exhibits) for experimental license to conduct white spaces experiments in Washington DC. This work is to be done jointly with District of Columbia government and the Community College of the District of Columbia, and is to investigate the usefulness of available white space spectrum for use in home networking applications.  The network is to consist of 5 base stations and 1,200 access points.  Although the request is for frequencies that span the entire UHF portion (470-698 MHz) of the white space band, only channels permitted for use by FCC rules are to be used. From the exhibits, it appears this experiment is supported by about $30 million of government grants, most by way of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

• Motorola Solutions filed an application (with associated exhibit) for special temporary authority to operate in the 758-768 and 788-798 MHz bands to conduct tests in connection with the development of Long Term Evolution (LTE) broadband equipment. The testing will be conducted from up to three sites near the offices of Motorola Solutions in Schaumburg, Illinois. The requested frequencies encompass both the 758-763 and 788-793 MHz bands known as the upper 700 MHz D block, which has not yet been licensed for regular operation, and the 763-768 and 793-798 MHz public safety block licensed on a nationwide basis to the Public Safety Spectrum Trust.

• Florida Atlantic University filed an application (with supporting exhibits) for experimental license to operate on 824-849, 880-915, and 1850-1910 MHz in and around Boca Raton, Florida. The intent is to support lab exercises in the College of Engineering and Computer Science. Equipment to be used includes a GSM and a CDMA base station, operating at up to 100 watts effective radiated power. The University says it will coordinate with other licensees, which would include cellular and PCS operators.

• BAE Systems Information and Electronic Systems Integration Inc. filed an application (with supporting exhibit) for special temporary authority to conduct in-flight calibration and verification of a radio direction finding system on an unmanned aircraft at Victorville, California. Several frequency bands will be used between 880 MHz and 15.35 GHz. This test supports the company’s work for the US Air Force and DARPA.

• The University of California, Berkley, Computer Science Department filed an application for special temporary authority to operate in support of OpenBTS technology investigations. Testing would be on 890-915 and 935-960 MHz.

• DRS ICAS, LLC filed an application (with supporting exhibit) for special temporary authority to test Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) interrogator equipment that is being developed under a contract with the Italian Air Force. Operation will be on 1030 and 1090 MHz at Cheektowaga, New York.

• Lockheed-Martin filed an application (with supporting exhibits) for special temporary authority to test IFF systems part of a sale to the Royal Saudi Air Force. The system uses the TPS-77 transportable radar platform. Operation will be on 1030 MHz.

• Qualcomm filed an application (with supporting exhibit) for experimental license to operate on Cambridge, Massachusetts on 1915-1920 MHz.    Qualcomm is collaborating with faculty and students at MIT to further its testing, validation and application concepts around a peer-to-peer system currently under development. It appears to allow peer-to-peer communications over licensed spectrum without infrastructure support. Qualcomm says the primary objective is to explore creative application ideas which are enabled by this technology, validate system performance, and get feedback on the networking architecture from those studying the subject at MIT. There has been some press attention of this technology at this writing. For better information, a Qualcomm acquaintance has pointed me to this presentation and to this IEEE magazine article.

• Boeing filed an application (with supporting exhibits) for special temporary authority to operate on 2345?2390 MHz in air-to-ground mode at three locations in Delaware, New Jersey, and Texas.  No further details are publicly available due to a confidentiality request; flight test telemetry is a likely purpose. The Navy is not enthusiastic about the proposal, and the application has yet to be granted.

• Sportvision filed an application (with supporting exhibit) for special temporary authority to operate an auto race track wireless data system that would allow television viewers to see, displayed on-screen, the real-time location of cars during a racing event. Vehicles equipped with GPS receivers and radios would provide updates every 200 milliseconds. Operation will be on 2395-2400 MHz at 23 motor speedways across the US. Modified Wi-Fi hardware will be used. The requested frequency band is just below the 2 GHz ISM band (high noise levels preclude operation there) and is allocated to the Amateur Radio Service. No interference is expected due to the short duration of operation and low power involved (1 watt). Operation will be coordinated with the ARRL.

• Florida International University filed an application (with supporting exhibits) for experimental license to operate a WiMAX base station on 2590 MHz in Miami, Florida in support of the Global Environment for Network Innovations (GENI) project.

• 4-D Security Solutions filed an application (with supporting exhibit) for experimental license to test surveillance radar on 8.75-8.95 and 10.32-10.48 GHz at locations in New Jersey and Wisconsin. The radars to be tested are Elta Systems models EL/M-2105 and EL/M-2129. This testing is in support of the company’s development of homeland security systems intended to provide protection for sensitive installations, borders, and coastlines.

• Denso Corporation filed an application (with supporting exhibits) for experimental license to operate nationwide on 24.125 and 25.5 GHz. Due to a confidentiality request, details of the experimental plan are not publicly available. This experiment is likely related to Denso’s ongoing work developing vehicle radar systems to detect preceding vehicles and obstacles as input to anti-crash and pre-crash systems.

• Battelle filed an application (with supporting exhibit) for special temporary authority to operate an experimental point-to-point communications link operating at millimeter-wave frequencies. The link uses optical components to generate and modulate the signals, and has the capability of transmitting 10 Gbps on a 100 GHz carrier. Operation will be at three locations on 95-105 GHz. The proposed study includes investigation of candidate modulation formats at distances up to 1 km.

• ShawnTech Communications filed an experimental application about which nothing is known due to a request for confidentiality. ShawnTech provides phone and related services to the corrections industry. This may be an experiment of cell phone jamming or managed access technology to address contraband wireless devices.

• National Public Radio filed an application (with supporting exhibits) for an experimental license to operate on 87.7 MHz in Philadelphia and San Francisco to test a “cognitive modulator” that would operate below the current FM band as an alternative to current consumer FM modulators. These modulators plug into the earphone jack of an audio device and transmit the audio at low power to an FM radio, often in a car.

The performance of these devices is usually mediocre at best. The FCC limits them to very low power. They’re tuned initially to unused FM frequencies that become occupied as the car moves, causing interference. HD Radio, which overlays a digital signal on the analog channel, increases interference; furthermore, HD Radio interference has no audible content and, to the listener, appears to be an unused channel causing confusion when selecting a frequency for the modulator. The modulators can also cause interference to other FM listeners.

The cognitive modulator to be tested would operate on 87.7 MHz, just below the FM band. It would measure interference and noise and adjust its transmitter power to provide a desired signal quality in car’s FM radio. In addition to testing the effectiveness of the new modulator, any interference from the modulator to other services would be evaluated. Services that could be impacted (but probably won’t) include FM broadcast stations on 88.1 MHz and digital TV stations on Channel 6 (82-88 MHz). Presumably, successful test results would be used in support of a request to the FCC to allow the manufacture and sale of the devices.

• Lilee Systems filed an application (with supporting exhibits) for experimental license to support the development of radio systems for Positive Train Control (PTC). PTC is mandated by the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 with regulation administered by the Federal Railway Administration. It’s intended to prevent train-to-train collisions, enforce speed restrictions, and temporarily slow trains near construction zones, among other things. Lilee is developing a radio product family to support PTC; specifically, it intends to provide software and hardware for radios in base stations, in locomotives, and at waysides. Testing is to be done in the Santa Clara, California area on 217-222 MHz.

• Adaptrum filed an application (with supporting exhibit) for special temporary authority to demonstrate a TV white space device at the FCC. The frequencies requested are 512-518, 542-548, 626-632, and 644-656 MHz (TV channels 21, 26, 40, 43, and 44, respectively).

• Syniverse Technologies filed an application for special temporary authority to operate a low-power GSM base station on 1900 MHz in Tampa, Florida to test wireless roaming solutions and fraud services associated with GSM SIM cards.

• Western DataCom filed an application (with supporting exhibits) for special temporary authority to operate a UMTS base station from an aerostat in the vicinity of South Boston, Virginia on 1972.5 and 2162.5 MHz. Testing will include evaluation of communications range and data throughput.

• AKELA Inc. filed an application (with supporting exhibit) for experimental license to test a through-the-wall surveillance radar prototype in Santa Barbara, California. AKELA says the technology was originally developed for the military and is now being modified for state and local first responders. The final version of the device is expected to allow identification and location of movement within a structure from “a few tens of meters away.” The prototype operates as a frequency-stepping radar from 2900 to 3600 MHz. The current design uses a stepping interval of 3 MHz, with a dwell time on each frequency of 65 microseconds; these parameters will be varied as part of the test.

• Comtech Systems filed an application (with supporting exhibit) for special temporary authority to test a transportable angle-diversity troposcatter antenna on 4400, 4700, and 4935 MHz. The testing is part of fulfilling a contract for delivering these systems to the US Marine Corp.  Troposcatter antenna systems are generally set up for diversity operation using two reflectors; a feature of this antenna is that diversity is implemented in the feed system, so only one reflector is needed.

• Raytheon Missile Systems filed an application (with supporting exhibit) for experimental license to test missile flight test telemetry systems that operate on C-band aeronautical telemetry frequencies that were allocated at the 2007 World Radio Conference (WRC). These include 4400-4940, 5091-5150, and 5925-6700 MHz, and supplement existing S-band frequencies at 2200-2290 and 2300-2390 MHz. Although the WRC spectrum allocation is not yet in effect in the US, it’s expected to be eventually, and Raytheon wants to start developing the new telemetry systems that will operate in those bands.

• LaPoint Blase Industries filed an application (with supporting exhibits) for experimental license to conduct tests using a portable Doppler weather radar system as part of a US Air Force contract. Operation will be on 9320-9370 MHz. The radar will be mounted on a truck that will be deployed at various urban locations in the US during times of severe weather.  The radar will be used to finely characterize severe weather events near the truck as part of an effort to improve urban weather prediction over a small scale.

• ITT Gilfillan filed an application (with supporting exhibits) for experimental license to test an Air-to-Air Radar Subsystem (AARSS) that is used as a collision sense-and-avoid radar for the Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) platform. This is part of a project for the US Naval Air Systems Command.  The AARSS is said to deliver 9.4 miles range in 4 mm/hr rain. Operation is to be on 13.25-13.40 GHz in the vicinity of Van Nuys, California.

• KVH Industries filed an application (with supporting exhibits) for special temporary authority to test new terminals for use with its global maritime communications network. Operation will be on 14.0-14.5 GHz in the continental US and on surrounding waters. The tests will be used to evaluate, optimize and demonstrate return uplink performance including for web access, e-mail, and voice. The terminal supports uplink data rates of up to 512 kbps and downlink end-user rates of up to 2 Mbps. It has a parabolic reflector 14.6 inches in diameter, and uses tracking mechanisms to keep it oriented toward the satellite. The market for this terminal includes small and medium-size vessels over 40-feet in length, including from the private, commercial, public safety, and defense sectors.

• Raysat Antenna Systems filed an application (with supporting exhibits) for special temporary authority to operate on 14.0-14.5 GHz in the continental United States. Technical details are not disclosed by the FCC due to a confidentiality request by Raysat. This is likely a test of a two-way mobile antenna for fixed satellite use.

• The University of Texas at Austin filed an application (with supporting exhibits) for experimental license to conduct tests of millimeter-wave propagation at 35-41 GHz and 57-63 GHz. The data collected are to be processed and integrated into published channel models to assist other researchers and designers.

• SET Corporation, a subsidiary of SAIC, filed an application (with supporting exhibits) for special temporary authority to operate on 93.5 GHz in and around Manassas, Virginia. This is to support manufacture of “multi-sensor products designed to counter the growing number of deadly security threats faced by homeland security and defense customers.” Further specifics are not disclosed by the FCC due to a confidentiality request by SET.

• 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.”

Making wireless services co-primary with broadcasting is a simple change to the Table. Doing it now facilitates things when service rules are written later.

Channel sharing is straightforward, at least technically. Two or more stations would share a single 19.4 Mbps data stream in a 6 MHz channel and would multiplex their programming. It’s possible to send two HD programs in one stream, sort of. Due to limitations in video compression, depending on the programming content, one or both programs would suffer more picture quality degradation than if only one program were sent; stations will have to decide who takes the quality hit and when. Instead of sending two HD programs, three or more stations might decide to send standard-definition programs. Another issue with channel sharing is that when a station moves to a common transmitter site, it may lose some of its existing coverage. How should these service losses be balanced against benefits? Non-technical issues include media ownership rules and must-carry rights.

The FCC also wants to improve VHF TV reception. Today, reception at VHF suffers from high noise and inefficient receiver antennas, compared to UHF.  Improving VHF TV would not only help today’s VHF stations, it would make that band more attractive for a possible repacking of some UHF stations into VHF, freeing more UHF spectrum for mobile broadband.

Not much can be done to reduce noise; to help address the issue, the FCC plans to allow some stations to increase power to the extent that they don’t cause new interference to other stations. For receiving antennas, the FCC proposes that antennas be required to comply with standards ANSI/CEA-2032-A for indoor TV performance, which incorporates standard ANSI/CEA-744-B for antenna measurement. Conformance with these standards would result in higher-gain indoor antennas and thus better quality reception. Not mentioned by the FCC is CEA’s standard for smart antennas, CEA-909, which uses signal quality data from the TV to make antenna adjustments that reduce noise, increase signal strength, and improve impedance matching. There hasn’t been much pickup of that standard that I can tell. Attention by the FCC might reinvigorate that technology; it already exists in other wireless services and doesn’t have to be reinvented for broadcasting.

As it does on many documents relating to the National Broadband Plan and spectrum, the FCC in the NPRM reiterates that the Plan recommends making 500 MHz spectrum available for wireless broadband in 10 years, with 300 MHz of that for mobile flexible use within 5 years. Since the FCC refreshed this estimate with release of a related Omnibus Broadband Initiative technical paper on October 21, I thought the FCC might address that paper and its analysis in this NPRM. It does not. The assumptions used by that analysis are out of date or incomplete. To the extent that the FCC continues to rely on the 300 MHz estimate, it should, sooner rather than later, make it a prime topic for consideration.

For views on the NPRM from a legal perspective, see the CommLawBlog and the Broadcast Law Blog.

The methodology described in the paper is relatively straightforward and pragmatic, in contrast to methodologies used by other spectrum estimates cited in the NBP. The paper looks at current spectrum use and adjusts it upward based on forecasts of mobile data demand, downward based on air-interface spectral-efficiency improvements, and downward based on increased cell-site density. With such an approach, the demand forecasts are critical. Forecasts from Cisco Systems, Coda Research, and Yankee Group are used and averaged to get a single forecast.

Related to the 300 MHz estimate, directly or indirectly, are the three items the FCC has placed on the tentative agenda for its November 30 meeting: TV spectrum innovation, opportunistic spectrum use, and experimental licensing rules. Perhaps as part of one of these proceedings, the FCC will seek comment on the paper and the three forecasts. Here are some areas for consideration:

• Rate plans. The paper says, “projections of mobile data demand used in this analysis are based in part on historic market dynamics, such as ‘all you can eat’ pricing for data.” There is anecdotal evidence, however, of movement toward “pay as you go” pricing.
• Offloading of mobile broadband data onto Wi-Fi and other technologies. The paper chooses to not consider such offloading “directly.” Certain of the forecasts consider it, but incompletely, at least from what I can tell (see the last point below). As we see improvements in, and deployment of, interworking technologies for Wi-Fi and 4G, and perhaps more rationalization of rate plans away from “all you can eat” single flat rates, consumers will have more incentive to offload mobile broadband data. A reference cited by the paper downplays this effect by saying that a mobile user is often not near a Wi-Fi hotspot. The Cisco forecast, however, cites data showing that most mobile broadband use is at home or at work — locations increasingly having hotspot coverage.
• Scenarios for mobile broadband video use. Cisco predicts that video will account for 66% of mobile data traffic by 2014. It also predicts that in 2014, smartphones will use 21% of mobile data traffic and “laptops and other mobile ready portables” will use 70%. Looked at another way, video on laptops and portables is predicted to consume almost half of mobile broadband data. If we reconsider offloading of data and rate plans, estimates of mobile broadband video use can likewise be reconsidered.
• New technology. The paper looks at improvements in technology and the resulting increased spectral efficiency with respect to the air interface. Other technologies have the potential to reduce the number of bits needed to do the same thing. For example, video and audio compression technology continues to improve. What practical advances can be realized and when? Related to new technology, I’d also include software improvements resulting in reduced application data requirements and phone operating system overhead. If the industry is moving toward “pay as you go,” programmers will have greater incentive to reduce unnecessary data overhead.
• Use of non-public data. Many references cited by the paper or in the forecasts are described as proprietary or unpublished or are accessible only at considerable cost. Perhaps the FCC can encourage these sources to make more data publicly available.

There’s more that could be said about the technical paper and the three forecasts, but the above points are the first considerations that come to mind.

Jim’s example is from the 3GPP family of technologies, of which LTE is part. Most 3GPP2 operators, such as Verizon Wireless, are also planning a migration to LTE. They migrate from a different family of technologies, those specified in 3GPP2 and which include cdma2000 developed largely by Qualcomm. In Verizon’s transition, high-speed data on cdma2000 networks, now provided by EV-DO, will migrate to LTE. Voice will stay on cdma2000 1x for several years. That’s not a problem, because that technology keeps improving. The latest version, called cdma2000 1x Advanced, has achieved a 50x increase in voice capacity over the predecessor IS-95 system launched in 1993.

Both 3GPP and 3GPP2 3G voice feature a soft-handover (make-before-break) scheme that allows for, essentially, a circuit-switched connection. Yes, you’ll be able to run Skype and other VoIP services on 4G LTE data networks, if you want. In terms of the total user experience, however, most will prefer the seamlessness of standards-based integrated voice capability.

VoIP is the future. For 4G voice, though, it’s just great in theory at this time.

• 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.

The demand is, in part, from the smart grid community, who like it for linking to smart meters because of the band’s greater range and lower obstruction losses.  A problem, though, has been lack of interoperability. Each vendor has its own implementation, and smart grid customers don’t want to be tied to one vendor.

Today the IEEE Standards Association’s Standards Board approved a request by IEEE 802 Working Group 802.11 to start a project that will amend the 802.11 standard to include sub 1 GHz operation. This project, under new Task Group 802.11ah, does not include TV white space frequencies; that’s being handled under Task Group 802.11af.

The most important thing this amendment will do is establish standard RF channel widths and center frequencies. Because 802.11 is an international standard, non-US allocation schemes will be considered as well.

At least one FCC observer has noted an uncharacteristic level of hype in today’s announcements. The FCC calls it “super Wi-Fi,” and adds the “potential uses of this spectrum are limited only by the imagination.”

Over two years ago, Google called it “Wi-Fi on Steroids.” It was later picked up by the popular press. Not all agree; it’s “Wi-Fi on Crutches” according to one who dares to consider the realities of physics and economics.

I’ll call it “Wi-Fi on Caffeine,” at least with respect to better range and coverage — if not data rates — compared with current Wi-Fi equipment. This is partly due to operation in the UHF-TV band instead of the 2.4 GHz band. In major markets and their suburbs, there will be few or no channels available for white space use. In rural areas and other less dense areas, the technology will be a good fit with Wireless Internet Service Providers (WISPs) and other longer-distance applications.

Cellular operators would like some of the white space on a licensed basis for backhaul in rural areas. They didn’t get it today, but the FCC is actively considering it and we may hear more on that by the end of the year.  No way are all these vacant channels going to be occupied by internet services in the most rural areas, so the proposal of the operators makes sense.

In IEEE 802, Working Groups 802.22 and 802.11 are working on standards that can be used by equipment in these applications; 802.22 may be the one with longer range. Working Group 802.19 is trying to facilitate coexistence between the two. Now, there are asymetric interference effects, which is causing friction between the two groups beyond the normal competition. (802.22 takes the harder interference hit.)

There will be other standards and equipment as well. The white space concept is international, but unique to each area of the world.

Equipment is not easy; it’s challenging to develop sufficiently-broadband power amplifiers and antennas, and to meet the emission mask in a cost-effective manner.

Another challenge is developing a business plan when 120 MHz of TV spectrum could be taken away under the National Broadband Plan.

Paragraph 3 of today’s Memorandum briefly outlines what the Commission considers to be the main points of today’s action. I reproduce the text of that outline below. Please refer to the complete document for more information, and consult with a communications attorney before acting on any of this information.

By today’s decision, the FCC is taking the following actions:

“Protection Criteria for Incumbent Services

• Modifying the protection criteria for low power auxiliary stations such as wireless microphones to reduce the required separation between such devices and unlicensed personal/portable devices operating in Mode II.

• Modifying the definition of the receive sites entitled to protection outside of a television station’s service area to include all multi-channel video programming distributors as defined by our rules.

• Reserving two vacant UHF channels for wireless microphones and other low power auxiliary service devices in all areas of the country.

• Allowing operators of event and production/show venues that use large numbers of wireless microphones on an unlicensed basis that cannot be accommodated in the two reserved channels and any others available at that location to register the sites of those venues on TV bands databases to receive the same geographic spacing protections afforded licensed wireless microphones.

• Restricting fixed TV bands devices from operating on locations where the ground level is more than 76 meters above the average terrain level in the area.

TV Bands Devices

• Eliminating the requirement that TV bands devices that incorporate geo-location and database access must also listen (sense) to detect the signals of TV stations and low power auxiliary service stations (wireless microphones). As part of that change we are also revising and amending the rules in several aspects to reflect use of that method as the only means for determining channel availability. While we are eliminating the sensing requirement for TVBDs, we are encouraging continued development of this capability because we believe it holds promise to further improvements in spectrum efficiency in the TV spectrum in the future and will be a vital tool for providing opportunistic access to other spectrum bands.

• Adopting power spectral density limits for unlicensed TV bands devices.

• Modifying the rules governing measurement of adjacent channel emissions.

• Restricting fixed TV bands devices from operating at locations where the height above average terrain of the ground level is greater than 76 meters.

TV Bands Database

• Requiring that communications between TV bands devices and TV bands databases, and between multiple databases, are secure.

• Requiring that all information that is required by the Commission’s rules to be in the TV bands databases be publicly available.

Use of TV Channels

• Amending the rules to protect Canadian and Mexican stations in the border areas by including those stations in the TV bands database as protected services.

• Changing the protection zone for the radio astronomy facility near Socorro, New Mexico to a rectangular area.

• Declining to grant a request by FiberTower to set aside TV channels for fixed licensed backhaul use.”