The 56th meeting of the working group on Short Range Devices/Maintenance Group (SRD/MG) took place last 29-31 August in the Italian town of Montegrotto, chaired by Thomas Weber. This working group deals with matters associated to short range devices, and among other issues is responsible for updating Recommendation ERC/REC 70-03, for responding to the European Commission (EC) permanent mandate on short range devices with a view to updating the Commission decision on low power short range devices, and for others associated to ultra wide band (UWB) technology.
The gathering was attended by 47 representatives of various administrations, industry and other bodies, including the European Commission (EC) and the European Communications Office (ECO).
The SRD/MG group developed a new format for Recommendation 70-03; the revisions made to the Rec. 70-03 appendices are reflected in this new version.
It is also working to produce the draft CEPT Report 44, CEPT's response to the permanent Commission mandate on SRD, which will be used for the fifth revision of Decision 2006/771/EC. The 401-406 MHz band for ultra-low power active medical implant (ULP-AMI) devices was particularly subject to discussion, as were the 76-77 GHz band for radars and the generic limits for short range devices above 30 MHz.
Determination of the regulatory solution for medical body area network systems (MBANS) continues to be studied. The Spectrum Engineering working group (WG SE), especially SE24, is working on compatibility studies for the requested band, specifically from 2300 to 2500 MHz. It was noted that the regulatory solution for such systems may require them to be registered in a database, thereby making them regulated by a light-licensing system.
After the publication of standard ETSI TR 102 791 on "Technical Characteristics of Wireless Aids for Hearing Impaired People Operating in the VHF and UHF Frequency Range" in May 2012, the identification of frequency bands and operating conditions for assistive listening device (ALD) systems is now under study. It may involve registration in a database to ensure compatibility with digital audio broadcasting (DAB) systems.
Regarding UWB technology, the review of comments received in the public consultation on the new ECC Decision (12)cc on UWB devices on board aircraft was completed; the proposed CEPT report responding to the Commission's fifth mandate on UWB is still under development. The mandate basically aims to ascertain new developments at CEPT level for generic UWB applications and for specific UWB applications, the goal being to update the EC decision on UWB and to make clear the ‘outside' limit adopted in the last revision of Decision ECC/DEC/(06)04. The proposed EDD Decision (12)cc, revised by the SRD/MG group, was submitted to the 76th meeting of WG FM (September 2012) for approval and later submission to the ECC.
Research into new spectrum opportunities in the ultra-high frequency (UHF) band for SRD devices, radio frequency identification (RFID) equipment, smart metering and smart grid applications is under study. The compatibility studies needed to introduce new applications will be carried out by the SE24 group. Preliminary studies indicate that eventual development of SRD in the 873-876 MHz band must protect the uplink of the extended-global system for mobile railway (E-GSMR); eventual development of RFID and SRD in the 918-921 MHz band requires a sort of cognitive technology to guarantee compatibility with the E-GSMR downlink, including possible decoding of the broadcast control channel (BCCH); it will probably not be possible for SRD to co-exist with government services such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), for example, in bands where those are operating.
This group continues to develop an ECC report on the current status of the digital frequency selection (DFS) mechanism in 5 GHz in Europe, based on the occurrence of interference situations caused by wireless access systems/radio local area networks (WAS/RLAN) that use the DFS mechanism in weather radars.
Based on SRDoc TR 102 889, which proposes industrial wireless applications with technologies different from UWB technology, compatibility studies are being conducted with a view to adopting a regulatory solution for such systems. The bands initially deemed priority for these systems were 5150-5250 MHz and 5725-5875 MHz (5.8 GHz); for the time being only the 5.8 GHz band is being considered. This issue will continue to be discussed in future meetings; the SRD/MG group is waiting for the compatibility studies being produced by SE24.
The potential use by other systems/services besides mobile services in the 2 GHz (1900-1920 MHz and 2010-2025 MHz) band is also under study. Several groups in the Frequency Management working group (WG FM), specifically Spectrum Aspects Broadband DA2GC Systems (FM48), Radio Spectrum for Public Protection and Disaster Relief (FM49 ), Programme Making and Special Events (FM51) and SRD/MG are investigating possible system/service candidates for use of the bands. While the primary services that will be designated for the 2 GHz band are not identified, the SRD/MG group has no SRD proposals that may eventually share the band with other services.
