Lisbon hosted last 19-21 September the 11th meeting of project team (PT) 43 of the Spectrum Engineering working group (WG SE), in charge of determining technical requisites for operating cognitive radio (CR) equipment/systems in spectrum not used by digital terrestrial networks (DTT), known as white spaces devices (WSD), as well as PMSE, in the 470-790 MHz frequency band and the services operating in adjacent bands.
The meeting’s agenda points were those identified by WG SE as being priority, specifically:
1. Applicability of autonomous WSD operation using the collaborative sensing technique;
2. Analysis of the possibility of harmonising the equivalent isotropically radiated power (EIRP) limits of WSDs at member State level in order to reduce uncertainties for industry. To do so a more limited set of values for WSD characteristics must be adopted;
3. Specification of alternative methods in order to determine the power of WSDs depending on the place where they are found;
4. WSD technical characteristics and their classification;
5. Setting of maximum WSD power limits;
6. Studies of impact on networks operating in bands adjacent to 470-790 MHz;
7. Technical considerations for protecting emitting microphones;
8. Analysis of the amount of free spectrum for WSD;
9. Protection of cable distribution headends.
Also presented were the documents SE43(11)Info11 and SE43(11)Info12 summarising the work respectively carried out in the scope of the COST-TERRA and COGEU projects. The PT next examined and discussed contributions received on those agenda points. The working document was also updated based on results from those discussions.