SRSP-302.3 - Technical Requirements for Wireless Communications Service Operating in the Bands 2305-2320 MHz and 2345-2360 MHz

Issue 1
January 2004

Spectrum Management and Telecommunications Policy

Standard Radio System Plan

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1. Intent

1.1 This Standard Radio System Plan (SRSP) states the minimum technical requirements for the efficient use of the frequency bands 2305-2320 MHz and 2345-2360 MHz by Wireless Communications Service (WCS).

1.2 WCS will be licensed under the fixed and mobile services. Deployments may have elements of both services; however, technical restrictions placed on the mobile service may preclude some applications. Licensees may deploy a full range of terminal devices including broadband point-to-point, although it is anticipated that WCS will be used predominantly for the provision of local broadband access services in point-to-multipoint configurations.

1.3 This SRSP specifies technical characteristics relating to efficient spectrum usage only, and is not to be regarded as a comprehensive specification for equipment design and/or selection.

2.General

2.1 Revision of this SRSP will be made as required.

2.2 Radio systems conforming to these technical requirements will be given licensing priority over non-standard radio systems operating in this band.

2.3 Arrangements for non-standard systems are outlined in Spectrum Utilization Policy Gen, General Information Related to Spectrum Utilization and Radio Systems Policies (SP-GEN).

2.4 Although a radio system conforms to the requirements of this SRSP, modifications may be required whenever harmful interference (Footnote 1) is caused to other radio stations or systems.

2.5 Industry Canada should be advised when potential conflict between radio systems cannot be resolved by the parties concerned. After consultation with these parties, Industry Canada will determine what modifications need to be made and establish a schedule for these modifications in order to resolve the conflict.

2.6 Industry Canada may require licensees and/or applicants to use receiver selectivity characteristics that provide rejection of harmful interference.

2.7 Licensees are expected to respect ITU Radio Regulations pertaining to the bands 2305-2320 MHz and 2345-2360 MHz and abide by any future arrangements/agreements established with other countries.

2.8 Industry Canada will require applicants and/or licensees to cooperate with each other in the selection and use of the assigned frequencies in order to minimize interference, thereby obtaining the most effective use of the authorized spectrum.

2.9 WCS equipment must be certified in accordance with Radio Standards Specification 195 (RSS-195), Wireless Communications Service Equipment Operating in the Bands 2305-2320 MHz and 2345-2360 MHz.

2.10 Licensees are required to make available to Industry Canada, upon request, information on certain technical parameters of their hub and remote stations.

3. Related Documents

The current issues of the following documents are applicable and available on the Spectrum Management and Telecommunications Web site at http://strategis.gc.ca/spectrum in Official Publications.

3.1 Spectrum Utilization Policy GEN (SP-GEN) - General Information Related to Spectrum Utilization and Radio Systems Policies

3.2 Policy and Licensing Procedures for the Auction of Spectrum Licences in the 2300 MHz and 3500 MHz Bands (Published September 2003, revised December 2003)

3.3 Spectrum Utilization Policy 2285 MHz (SP-2285 MHz) - Revisions to the Spectrum Utilization Policy for Services in the Frequency Range 2285-2483.5 MHz

3.4 Terrestrial Radiocommunication Agreements and Arrangements / Terrestrial Broadcasting Agreements and Arrangements (TRAA/TBAA) - Technical Conditions for Implementation of Digital Radio Broadcasting (DRB) Services in Canada in the Bands 1452-1492 MHz and Digital Radio by Satellite (DARS) Services in the United States in the Bands 2320-2345 MHz

3.5 Interim Arrangement Concerning the Use of the Frequency Bands 2305-2320 MHz and 2345-2360 MHz by Stations in the Wireless Communications Service (WCS) Near the Canada/United States of America Border

3.6 Radio Standards Specification 195 (RSS-195) - Wireless Communications Service Equipment Operating in the Bands 2305-2320 MHz and 2345-2360 MHz

3.7 Radio Standards Specification 102 (RSS-102) - Evaluation Procedure for Mobile and Portable Radio Transmitters with Respect to Health Canada’s Safety Code 6 for Exposure of Humans to Radio Frequency Fields

3.8 Client Procedures Circular 2-1-19 (CPC-2-1-19) - Licensing Procedure for Wireless Communications Service and Fixed Wireless Access Systems in the 2300 MHz and 3500 MHz Frequency Bands

3.9 Client Procedures Circular 2-0-03 (CPC-2-0-03) - Environmental Process, Radiofrequency Fields and Land – Use Consultation (Footnote 2)

3.10 Client Procedures Circular 2-0-16 (CPC-2-0-16) - Licensing Procedure for the Spectrum Licence

3.11 Telecommunications Regulation Circular 43 (TRC-43) - Notes Regarding Designation of Emission (Including Necessary Bandwidth and Classification), Class of Station and Nature of Service

3.12 Canadian Table of Frequency Allocations

4. Radio Frequency Block Arrangement Description

4.1 In accordance with the Policy and Licensing Procedures for the Auction of Spectrum Licences in the 2300 MHz and 3500 MHz Bands the frequency bands 2305-2320 MHz and 2345-2360 MHz are available as one paired block of 15 + 15 MHz designated as shown in Table 1.

This block may be sub-divided by the licensee. While it is expected that sub-blocks of 5+5 MHz may be commonly used, other sub-block sizes are also possible.

4.2 For Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) systems, the base-to-subscriber links are preferred in the upper frequency block, and the subscriber-to-base links are preferred in the lower frequency block. Systems using Time Division Duplexing (TDD) may operate in either frequency block.

5. Technical Criteria

The frequency blocks A and A' are licensed on an exclusive basis. Licensees may deploy WCS systems within their licensed service area.

5.1 The maximum equivalent isotropically radiated power (e.i.r.p.) of a transmit station shall not exceed +33 dBW for fixed stations, including mobile base stations, or +13 dBW for mobile stations.

5.2 Unwanted emission limits are specified in RSS-195.

6. International Coordination

Usage of the frequency blocks 2305-2320 MHz and 2345-2360 MHz near the Canada/U.S. border is subject to the provisions of the Interim Arrangement Concerning the Use of the Frequency Bands 2305-2320 MHz and 2345-2360 MHz by Stations in the Wireless Communications Service (WCS) Near the Canada/United States of America Border.

7. Domestic Coordination

7.1 The stations that are to be considered for coordination are the base stations (central transmitting stations) and their associated subscriber stations, and shall be referred to jointly as WCS systems.

7.2 Coordination is required between licensed service areas where the shortest distance between the respective service area boundaries is less than 120 km.

7.3 Licensees are encouraged to arrive at mutually acceptable sharing agreements that allow for the provision of service of each licensee within their service area to the maximum extent possible.

7.4 Licensees are expected to take full advantage of interference mitigation techniques such as antenna discrimination, polarization, frequency offset, shielding, site selection, and/or power control to facilitate the coordination of systems.

7.5 If a licence is transferred, assigned or reissued, any existing agreement(s) that formed the basis of coordination shall continue to apply with respect to the new licensee unless a new agreement is reached.

7.6 In circumstances where a sharing agreement does not exist or has not been concluded between licensees, the following process shall apply: (Footnote 3)

7.6.1 Licensees are required to calculate the power flux-density (pfd) at the service area boundary of the neighbouring service area(s) of the transmitting facilities. Pfd is calculated using accepted engineering practices, taking into account such factors as propagation loss, antenna directivity toward the service area boundary, and the curvature of the Earth. The pfd value used shall be the maximum value calculated for elevation points between 0 m and 500 m above local terrain at the service area boundary. See Appendix A for a sample pfd calculation.

7.6.2 Deployment of facilities that generate a pfd less than or equal to –110 dB(W/m²) (Footnote 4) in any 1 MHz at the neighbouring service area boundaries is not subject to any coordination requirements.

7.6.3 Deployment of facilities that generate a pfd greater than –110 dB(W/m²) in any 1 MHz is subject to successful coordination between the affected licensees in accordance with the following process:

7.6.3.1 The licensees must notify the respective other licensee(s) of their intention to deploy the facility(ies), and submit the information necessary to conduct an interference analysis. A list of suggested data elements is given in Appendix B.

7.6.3.2 The recipient of the coordination proposal must respond by registered mail (or another mutually acceptable method) within 30 calendar days of receipt to indicate any objection to deployment of the proposed facilities. If no objection is raised within that timeframe, then deployment of facilities may proceed.

7.6.3.3 If an objection is raised, the respective licensees must work in collaboration to develop a suitable agreement between them before the deployment of facilities. It is expected that the timeframe to develop such an agreement should not exceed 30 calendar days.

7.6.3.4 Proposed facilities must be deployed within 180 calendar days of the conclusion of coordination, otherwise coordination must be re-initiated as per section 7.6.3.

7.6.4 In the event that a mutually acceptable agreement cannot be concluded between licensees, then the licensee seeking coordination may ask the Department to facilitate resolution of the case. A station which requires coordination shall not be placed in operation until an agreement has been reached.

7.7 Licensees may exceed a pfd level of -110 dB(W/m²) in any 1 MHz bandwidth at their service area boundary on a provisional basis where there is no neighbouring licensee within 120 km. However, in the event that a new licensee is authorized within 120 km, the existing licensee will be required to coordinate to a pfd level of -110 dB(W/m²) in any 1 MHz bandwidth at the new licensee’s service area boundary, unless otherwise agreed with the new licensee.

7.8 Any WCS station will require further coordination if proposed modifications: 

1. result in a pfd at or beyond the other service area boundary exceeding
   -110 dB(W/m²) in any 1 MHz bandwidth;
   
   
2. involve operation on frequencies not previously coordinated; or
   
   
3. change the polarization.
   
   

7.9 All results of analyses on pfd and agreements made between licensees must be retained by the licensees and made available to the Department upon request.

Issued under the authority of
the Minister of Industry

R.W. McCaughern
Director General
Spectrum Engineering 

Appendix A - Sample pfd Calculation

The following example illustrates how the pfd level at the service area boundary may be determined. (Footnote 5)

Proposed station parameters:

Figure 1: Graphical representation of the proposed situation

The spectral power density in dB(W/MHz) at the boundary of Service Area Y (P_boundary) may be calculated using free-space propagation, taking into account such factors as atmospheric losses, as follows:

P_boundary = P_T' + G_T – 20 log F_MHz – 20 log D_km – 32.4
= (1 + 17 – 20 log (2352.5) – 20 log (40) – 32.4) dB(W/MHz)
= (1 + 17 – 67.4 – 32.0 – 32.4) dB(W/MHz)
= –113.8 dB(W/MHz)

where: P_T' = P_T – 10 log B_MHz
= 5 – 10 log (2.5)
= 1dB(W/MHz)

Then, the power flux-density in dB(W/m²) in 1 MHz (pfd) may be calculated as follows:

pfd = P_boundary – 10 log A_r
= (–113.8 – 10 log (1.294 x 10^-3)) dB(W/m²) in 1 MHz
= (–113.8 – (–28.9)) dB(W/m²) in 1 MHz
= –84.9 dB(W/m²) in 1 MHz

where: A_r = ² / (4)

= c² / (4F_Hz²)

= (3 x 10⁸)² / (4 x (2352.5 x 10⁶)²)
= 1.294 x 10^-3 m²

Appendix B - Parameters for Coordination

List of parameters that should be provided: 

• Licensee information (Corporate name/Mailing Address/Phone/Fax/E-mail)
  
  
• Location of transmitter (Community/Province)
  
  
• Geographical coordinates of transmitting antenna
  
  
• e.i.r.p. (dBW)
  
  
• Ground elevation and antenna height above ground(m)
  
  
• Centre frequency (MHz)
  
  
• Polarization
  
  
• Antenna pattern/tabulation of the pattern
  
  
• Azimuth of the maximum antenna gain
  
  
• Bandwidth and emission designation(s)

Notes: 

1. These parameters are for the coordination of the base station and subscriber stations.
   
   
2. The licensee could provide more parameters, if needed, for the coordination process.

Appendix C - Process to Determine Whether Coordination is Required for Cases Where a Sharing Agreement Between the Licensees has not been Concluded

Footnotes

1. For the purpose of this SRSP, harmful interference means interference which endangers the functioning of a radionavigation service or other safety services or seriously degrades, obstructs, or repeatedly interrupts a radiocommunication service operating in accordance with regulations and technical requirements laid down by Industry Canada under the Radiocommunication Act.

2. For nomadic devices in the fixed service, see also RSS-102.

3. This process is illustrated graphically in Appendix C of this document.

4. This trigger level equates to a field strength of 47 µV/m over 15 MHz.

5. It should be noted that the calculation in the example assumes line-of-sight conditions. Where line-of-sight does not exist, an appropriate propagation model that takes the non-line-of-sight situation into account should be used.