Mobile Communication Networks and Digital Television Broadcasting Systems in the Same Frequency Bands – Advanced Co-Existence Scenarios

The increasing demand for wireless multimedia services provided by modern communication systems with stable services is a key feature of advanced markets. On the other hand, these systems can many times operate in a neighboring or in the same frequency bands. Therefore, numerous unwanted co-existence scenarios can occur. The aim of this paper is to summarize our results which were achieved during exploration and measurement of the co-existences between still used and upcoming mobile networks (from GSM to LTE) and digital terrestrial television broadcasting (DVB) systems. For all of these measurements and their evaluation universal measurement testbed has been proposed and used. Results presented in this paper are a significant part of our activities in work package WP5 in the ENIAC JU project “Agile RF Transceivers and Front-Ends for Future Smart Multi-Standard Communications Applications (ARTEMOS)”

Utjecaj LTE sustava zasnovanog na kognitivnoj radio tehnologiji na DVB-T2 sustav zasnovan na metodi diverzifikacije

In recent years, the development of advanced wireless communication systems has been rapidly progressing. In Europe, the 2nd Generation Terrestrial Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB-T2) and Long-Term Evolution (LTE) are the most promising techniques to provide multimedia services efficiently (in flexible quality and with high spectrum efficiency). The purpose of this work is to explore possible influences of the LTE {uplink services}, using cognitive radio (CR) technology, on the area which is covered by DVB-T2 services. In the case of DVB-T2, both single-input single-output (SISO) and multiple-input single-output (MISO) transmission techniques are considered. The defined coexistence scenarios are measured with an appropriate measurement testbed. The performance of the received TV signal is evaluated on its physical layer (PHY) level. The obtained results allow better understand the influence of LTE system on DVB-T2 which is using diversity technique in the same RF channel (co-channel coexistence). One of the main results is that there are the same requirements on the Forward Error Correction (FEC) decoding process in the DVB-T2 receiver, when power imbalances between TV transmitters (an both SISO and MISO modes) are considered at the interfering LTE signal. This finding was also proved by analysis of variance (ANOVA).U posljednje vrijeme se znatno ubrzao razvoj naprednih bežičnih komunikacijskih sustava. U Europi metode prijenosa signala zasnovane na DVB-T2 (eng. 2nd Generation Terrestrial Digital Video Broadcasting) i LTE (eng. Long-Term Evolution) metodama najviše obećavaju u području učinkovitog pružanja multimedijalnih usluga (s prilagodivom kvalitetom i s visokom učinkovitosti spektra). U ovom radu je razmotrena mogućnost korištenja LTE signala uzlazne veze, uz korištenje kognitivne radio tehnologije, u području pokrivenom DVB-T2 signalom. Razmotrene su metode prijenosa DVB-T2 signala s jednim ulazom i jednim izlazom (eng. Single-Input Single-Output, SISO) te više ulaza i jednim izlazom (eng. Multiple-Input Single-Output, MISO). Definirani su scenariji koegzistencije i isti su izmjereni korištenjem prikladnog mjernog ispitnog stola. Kvaliteta primljenog TV signala je evaluirana na fizičkom sloju. Prikupljeni rezultati omogućuju bolje razumijevanje utjecaja LTE sustava na DVB-T2 koji koristi metodu diverzifikacije u istom radio-frekvencijskom kanalu (koegzistencija susjednog kanala). Jedan od glavnih rezultata je postojanje istih zahtjeva na proces dekodiranja s ispravljanjem pogrešaka u prijemniku (eng. Forward Error Correction) DVB-T2 prijemnika kada se neravnoteža snaga između TV predajnika (MISO i SISO režimi rada) uzima u obzir na interferirajućem LTE signalu. Navedeni rezultat potvrđen je analizom varijance

Interference Analysis Between Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) and 4G LTE Mobile Networks in the Digital Dividend Bands

With the introduction of digital terrestrial television (DTT) and the analogue television switch-off, terrestrial broadcast spectrum in the UHF band is being released for mobile communications, in particular for fourth generation (4G) long term evolution (LTE) mobile services. This spectrum is known as digital dividend. An impending problem when deploying 4G LTE mobile networks in the digital dividend bands is that interferences may appear in the adjacent radio frequency channels used for DTT. In this paper, we analyze the adjacent coexistence of DTT and 4G LTE networks in the digital dividend bands at 700 MHz and 800 MHz. A generic framework is adopted such that results can be easily extrapolated to different scenarios and bands. Results are presented as a function of the guard band between technologies, for both LTE uplink and downlink adjacent to the DTT signals, and for fixed outdoor and portable indoor DTT reception. Also, the effect of using anti-LTE filters is studied.This work was supported by the Spectrum Regulator of Colombia ANE (Agencia Nacional del Espectro).Ribadeneira Ramírez, JA.; Martínez, G.; Gómez Barquero, D.; Cardona, N. (2016). Interference Analysis Between Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) and 4G LTE Mobile Networks in the Digital Dividend Bands. IEEE Transactions on Broadcasting. 62(1):24-34. doi:10.1109/TBC.2015.2492465S243462

Radio frequency interference to DVB-T reception from LTE systems in adjacent bands

Australians have recently benefited from the switch-over to digital television which has freed many channels called digital dividend. Australia's digital dividend is the frequency range of 694 MHz to 820 MHz which is used to operate Long Term Evolu- tion (LTE) technology. In Australia there were 57 VHF and UHF channels used for television broadcasting. After the completion of switch-over process, UHF channels 52 to 69 were freed up which is considered as Australian digital dividend. When LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) system and digital television services operate in adjacent UHF bands, LTE FDD transmitters can cause harmful interference to digital video broadcasting-terrestrial (DVB-T). So in this study, we have presented the compatibility of operating LTE FDD services in the digital dividend spectrum identified in Australia. We have used interference analysis method to calculate the minimum separation distance between LTE FDD and DVB-T sys- tem and Monte Carlo Simulation for calculating the probability of location within considered DVB-T area that suffer maximum level of interference. Also, there are some unused channels where digital television operates called TV White Spaces (TVWS). TVWS can be utilized to operate the secondary devices such as LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD) which helps to address spectrum scarcity issue. We have presented the study of the interference on DVB-T when LTE TDD are operating on TVWS. We have used interference analysis method to calculate mini- mum separation distance between LTE TDD and DVB-T. The results of our study show that increasing the guard band reduces the interference to adjacent channel

Spectrum Sharing for LTE-A and DTT: Field Trials of an Indoor LTE-A Femtocell in DVB-T2 Service Area

(c) 2016 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other users, including reprinting/ republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted components of this work in other works.In this paper, we study a particular case which goes a step beyond the previous ones, as it aims at sharing the same frequency band in the same area between long term evolution-advance (LTE-A) and digital video broadcasting-terrestrial second generation (DVB-T2) technologies. Those geographical areas that are not covered because the useful DTT signal is obstructed by the environment or it has a limited coverage by the network design can be called micro-TVWS. We assume that a DVB-T2 transmitter provides coverage for fixed rooftop reception as a primary service, to a building in which a LTE-A femtocell is installed indoors for local coverage, as a secondary service. The results have been obtained by laboratory emulation and validated through field measurements using professional equipment. Our results provide the technical restrictions of the LTE-A femtocell, mainly on the maximum allowable effective isotropic radiated power that could transmit on the DTT band in terms of carrier separation, from co-channel to adjacent band. These results meet the need of spectrum for IMT-Advanced technologies, so spectrum sharing is proposed in this paper as a new solution to make an efficient use of this resource.This work was supported in part by the Ministerio de Educacion y Ciencia, Spain, under Grant "DEFINE5G" TEC2014-60258-C2-1-R and Grant "ARCO5G" TEC2014-56469-REDT, and in part by the European FEDER Funds.Martínez Pinzón, G.; Cardona Marcet, N.; García Pardo, C.; Fornés Leal, A.; Ribadeneira-Ramírez, JA. (2016). Spectrum Sharing for LTE-A and DTT: Field Trials of an Indoor LTE-A Femtocell in DVB-T2 Service Area. IEEE Transactions on Broadcasting. 62(3):552-561. https://doi.org/10.1109/TBC.2016.2582338S55256162

Coexistence of digital terrestrial television and next generation cellular networks in the 700 MHz band

"(c) 20xx IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other users, including reprinting/ republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted components of this work in other works."With the spectrum liberation obtained by the deployment of digital terrestrial television and the analog TV switch-off, new bands are being assigned to IMT LTE. In the first cellular deployments in the digital dividend at the 800 MHz band, problems emerged due to the interference cellular networks can cause to DTT signals. Possible solutions imply either an inefficient use of the spectrum (increasing the guard band and reducing the number of DTT channels) or a high cost (using anti-LTE filters for DTT receivers). The new spectrum allocated to mobile communications is the 700 MHz band, also known as the second digital dividend. In this new IMT band, the LTE uplink is placed in the lower part of the band. Hence, the ITU-R invited several studies to be performed and reported the results to WRC-15. In this article, we analyze the coexistence problem in the 700 MHz band and evaluate the interference of LTE signals to DTT services. Several coexistence scenarios have been considered, and laboratory tests have been performed to measure interference protection ratios.Fuentes, M.; García Pardo, C.; Garro Crevillen, E.; Gómez Barquero, D.; Cardona Marcet, N. (2014). Coexistence of digital terrestrial television and next generation cellular networks in the 700 MHz band. IEEE Wireless Communications. 21(6):63-69. doi:10.1109/MWC.2014.7000973S636921

Electromagnetic Compatibility Analysis of DVB-T and LTE Systems

In 2012 the Communications Regulatory Authority of Lithuania reallocated 790–862 MHz band used by terrestrial TV operators for mobile communications purposes following an International Telecommunication Union decision. The aim of this paper is to experimentally investigate electromagnetic compatibility of Digital Video Broadcasting - Terrestrial receivers operating below 790 MHz band with LTE base stations operating in 800 MHz band and derive an analytical model suitable for further electromagnetic compatibility analysis. An experimental testbed using LTE hardware and DVB-T receivers was used for evaluation of adjacent channel LTE downlink signal interference impact on digital TV system. Also, effect of using third party hardware such as band-pass filters and wideband preamplifiers on interference was analyzed. The results obtained provide protection ratio and overloading threshold for the digital TV receivers in different operating scenarios which serve as a reference guide for regulatory authority, mobile operators and terrestrial TV providers

Measured Interference of LTE Uplink Signals on DVB-T Channels, Journal of Telecommunications and Information Technology, 2015, nr 4

Because of the decision, taken during the ITU WRC-07, to allocate the upper part of the so-called digital dividend spectrum for mobile services on a co-primary basis with TV broadcast services, the involved stakeholders have a great interest in avoiding any interference caused by signals transmitted in adjacent bands. In this context the paper presents some experimental results of a study addressed to assess the effects produced by an interferential LTE signal transmitted from a user terminal when it is in proximity of a television antenna that receives DVB-T signals. The study has been conducted in the context of collaboration between Fondazione Ugo Bordoni and ISCTI, the scientific and technical body of the Italian Ministry of Economic Development, using high professional laboratory equipments and considering different experimental simulation test setups. Several simulation scenarios have been analyzed and results in terms of protection ratio and protection distance have been carried out