NARFA NLD Pol 1 22 April 09 PolicyTracker Conference A military perspective on spectrum liberalisation Peter Bakker, CDR RNLN

NARFA NLD Pol Introduction 22 April 09 2 Introduction Peter Bakker Working as the national allied radio frequency agency (NARFA) for policy NLD MOD No background in telecommunication or transmission systems Presenting the NLD (occasionally personal) view, not necessarily shared by NATO partners

NARFA NLD Pol Program 22 April 09 3 Program Setting the scene Spectrum liberalisation aspects Preserving (national) security

NARFA NLD Pol 1. Setting the scene 22 April 09 4 International arena NLD is a NATO nation NLD forces will operate in a coalition (EU, NATO, UN mission) Since the 90’s mission area is defined as “anywhere in the world” Mission expansion – CRO, PK, HA, DR Cooperation with NGOs or IOs National security is dependent on global stability

NARFA NLD Pol 1. Setting the scene 22 April 09 5 European & NATO cooperation structures

NARFA NLD Pol 1. Setting the scene 22 April 09 6 Communications Interoperability Three aspects; Confidentiality, Integrity and Availability Flexibility through large tuning ranges Procurement plans not synchronised Equipment will be in the inventory for a long time Legacy versus increasing commercial use of wireless applications Concept of operation is dependent on access to radio spectrum Future concept of operation even more

NARFA NLD Pol 1. Setting the scene 22 April 09 7 Robustness of military radio services Confidentiality and availability requirements are incompatible with efficient use of radio spectrum Radio services are used for voice, data, multi media and radio determination transmissions Radio determination systems must work in adverse propagation conditions and must be able to locate small objects often travelling at high speeds Radio services must work in urban and rural environments all over the world  In the military effectiveness of radio services is the highest priority, efficiency comes second  Military radio services must cover spectrum from 9 KHz to 300 GHz

NARFA NLD Pol 1. Setting the scene 22 April 09 8 Mobility Mobility of military communication systems versus commercial mobile users Mission areas Desert Jungle Ocean Polar Urban

NARFA NLD Pol 2 Spectrum liberalisation aspects 22 April 09 9 Radiospectrum occupancy part 1 A typical radio spectrum graph made in an urban area. Notice the empty space in the band commonly allocated to military use in Europe Empty space here

NARFA NLD Pol 2. Spectrum liberalisation aspects 22 April Radiospectrum occupancy part 2 Another radio spectrum graph made somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean. Notice the empty space in non-military bands 200 – 400 MHz range Guess where the non-military bands are

NARFA NLD Pol 2. Spectrum liberalisation aspects 22 April Spectrum occupancy conclusion Both sectors (non-military and military) are unhappy with current frequency allocations Both sectors see benefit in spectrum liberalisation leading to a situation where there is radio service and technology neutrality

NARFA NLD Pol 2. Spectrum liberalisation aspects 22 April The road to radio spectrum liberalisation part 1 Aim for harmonisation of spectrum for non-military and military applications/ radio services (e.g. GSM), Aim for optimal spectrum efficiency within harmonised bands for each sector, Wherever possible and useful introduce service and technology neutrality within harmonised spectrum bands for each sector (e.g. WAPECS), Develop regulatory and legal framework to support these actions, Develop technology and implement the regulatory framework to support the final goal of spectrum liberalisation for all applications regardless of sector.  Tadaaaa - Cognitive Radio (CR)

NARFA NLD Pol 2. Spectrum liberalisation aspects 22 April Cognitive Radio and spectrum access Spectrum access time CR implementation Downward trend for military Upward trend for non-military Upward trend for both sectors due to better spectrum occupancy

NARFA NLD Pol 2. Spectrum liberalisation aspects 22 April The road to radio spectrum liberalisation part 2 However,.. questions need to be answered, for example;  What role do EC, ITU-R have to play?  Licences and CR?  Management of infrastructure in a CR environment?  Wireless versus wired/ fiber services (e.g. how does public radio through the air (terrestrial or satellite), internet, cable or mobile phone compare to making optimal use of radio spectrum?)  Can all radio services actually be implemented in a technology and service neutral environment?

NARFA NLD Pol 3. Preserving (national) security 22 April Preserving (national) security part 1 National security is dependent on global stability Military will need access to radio spectrum to do their job effectively in any mission area Military must exercise in a realistic scenario near home base before operational employment, however, under constraining peace time conditions Home base environment or peace time conditions are not the same as in the mission area  There is a limit to using commercial of the shelf products or non-military radio services

NARFA NLD Pol 3. Preserving (national) security 22 April Preserving (national) security part 2 Military are aware of radio spectrum scarcity in the bands that are useful to non-military use Military are investigating and implementing equipment & procedures that lead to more efficient use of radio spectrum allocated to their forces Dialogue with non-military sector and regulators leaves room for improvement  It might take a considerable amount of time before spectrum liberalisation will or can be implemented by both military and non-military sector

NARFA NLD Pol 3. Preserving (national) security 22 April Preserving (national) security bottom line If there were only such things as “global availability of radio networks”, “bandwidth on demand”, “hackproof/ certified quality of service” in combination with sound implementations of Cognitive Radio for all kinds of radio services, the military would not need spectrum allocations on an exclusive basis But then again what other sector or radio service would need such an allocation?

NARFA NLD Pol 22 April Thank you For listening to a SMA Spectrum Management Amateur