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2010 European Wireless Conference

SPECTRUM OCCUPANCY IN THE 2.36-2.4 GHZ BAND: MEASUREMENTS AND ANALYSIS


Ruben de Francisco and Ashish Pandharipande
IMEC

/ Holst Centre, Eindhoven, The Netherlands Email: ruben.defranciscomartin@imec-nl.nl Philips Research, Eindhoven, The Netherlands Email: ashish.p@philips.com

ABSTRACT In this paper, we analyze spectrum occupancy of the 2.36-2.4 GHz band. Interest in this band has risen recently, as secondary allocation of this radio spectrum is being considered for body sensor network operation to offer wireless healthcare services. We present spectrum measurements conducted in the Eindhoven area, in the Netherlands, where the 2.36-2.4 GHz band is currently used for land mobile and amateur radio services. Our objective is to show the spectrum usage in this band, provide statistics for the received power of active transmissions and obtain their occupation time. 1. INTRODUCTION There has been increasing interest in dynamic spectrum sharing techniques with the aim of improving spectrum utilization, as a number of spectrum measurements [1], [2], [3] have shown that radio spectrum utilization in a number of licensed bands is quite low. In this paper, we focus on the 2.36-2.4 GHz band and analyze its spectrum occupancy. Interest in this band has risen with FCCs Notice for Proposed Rulemaking [4] seeking comments on the secondary allocation of this band for body sensor network operation to offer wireless healthcare services. Similar initiatives are taking place in Europe, where ETSI recommends several bands for operation of low power active medical implants (LP-AMI) in the 2.36-3.4 GHz range, including the mentioned 2.36-2.4 GHz band [5]. Coexistence of such a proposed medical body sensor network with incumbent systems in this band could be achieved with mechanisms like listen-before-talk protocols, locationbased exclusion zones, etc. These mechanisms form the basis of cognitive radio technologies [6], [7] that facilitate coexistence with existing licensed systems while limiting harmful interference. In order to perform coexistence analysis, it is important to rst understand the characteristics of incumbent signal transmissions. Our objective in this paper is to analyze the spectrum usage in the 2.36-2.4 GHz band by providing statistics for the received power of active transmissions and determining their occupation and idle times. Towards this end, we present spectrum measurements carried out in the Eindhoven region, in the Netherlands, where this band is currently used for land mobile (primary service) and amateur radio services1 (secondary service) [8]. In Europe, each country has its own spectrum authorities, policies and frequency plannings [9]. The Conference of Eu1 The authors would like to thank the Telecom Agentschap (Dutch Radio Communication Agency) for providing very helpful information on spectrum allocation in the Netherlands.

ropean Post and Telecommunications (CEPT) recommends in [10] that the frequency band 2300-2330 MHz should primarily be used as a core band for airborne telemetry applications and that the band 2330-2400 MHz should be used as an extension band where required. In Europe, aeronautical telemetry is currently used only in Cyprus and Greece in the 2.3-2.4 GHz band [11]. In the United States, xed, mobile and radiolocation (radar) services co-exist in the band 2360-2385 MHz. Between 2385 and 2390 MHz, mobile and xed services are present. Between 2390 and 2400 MHz, amateur radio services are allocated. As stipulated in [12], the use of the band 2360-2395 MHz by the mobile service is limited to aeronautical telemetering and associated telecommand operations for ight testing of aircraft, missiles or major components thereof. The following three frequencies are shared on a co-equal basis by Federal and non-Federal stations for telemetering and associated telecommand operations of expendable and reusable launch vehicles, whether or not such operations involve ight testing: 2364.5 MHz, 2370.5 MHz, and 2382.5 MHz. For detailed frequency allocations for communication services in different ITU regions, the reader is referred to [9], [12], [13]. In this paper we present the following results obtained from our spectrum measurements: Spectrogram: Evolution of the power spectrum vs. frequency and time. Power Spectrum Statistics: Complementary cumulative distribution function (CCDF) of received power. Time Occupation and Idleness Statistics: Cumulative distribution function (CDF) of time occupancy, CDF of idle time, and average time occupancy. The remainder of the paper is organized as follows. Section 2 presents the measurement setup used in this study, describing the hardware and measurement parameters, as well as the measurement location. The obtained spectrograms, power spectrum statistics, and time occupation and time idleness statistics are presented in Sections 3, 4, and 5, respectively. Finally, conclusions are drawn in Section 6. 2. MEASUREMENT SETUP The following equipment was used to perform the present spectrum occupation study: Rohde & Schwarz ZVL6 spectrum analyzer 2.4 GHz receive antenna Laptop, connected to the spectrum analyzer via an Ethernet cable

978-1-4244-6001-4/10/$26.00 2010 IEEE

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Table 1: Spectrum analyzer measurement parameters Parameter Value Start and Stop 2355 MHz - 2405 MHz frequency2 Resolution 30 kHz bandwidth Sweep time2 55ms Video band- 30 kHz width Number of 1001 data points Reference -90 dBm level Span 50 dB Preamplier ON Attenuation 0 dB Filter Gaussian Detector Auto Peak
120 Average Maximum Minimum Noise power

130 Power Spectral Density [dBm/Hz]

140

150

160

170

180 2355

2360

2365

2370

2375 2380 2385 Frequency [Mhz]

2390

2395

2400

2405

Power [dBm] 112.5 112 111.5 111 110.5 110 109.5 109 108.5 108 107.5 107

Figure 2: Average/Maximum/Minimum Power spectral density and noise level. and trees. The building is a modern construction with large glass facades. 3. SPECTROGRAM The spectrograms shown in Figure 1 were obtained by sensing the band of interest continuously during 2 different days. On the rst day, continuous measurements were taken between 9am and 9pm hours. On the second day, measurements were taken between 9pm and 9am. In order to better identify the observed signals, we also show the adjacent 5 MHz band on the lower and upper side, thus covering the range 2355-2405 MHz. Dark blue colors denote lower received power, while red colors represent higher received power. Four narrowband transmissions can be easily identied with moderate received power levels and bandwidths between 50 and 60 kHz. Three of them operate during day time,
2 Frequency spans of 2 MHz were chosen in some measurements, centered at frequencies of interest, as discussed later. When 2 MHz span measurements are performed, the sweep time is set to 5 ms.

Figure 1: Spectrogram measured between 9am and 9pm (top), and between 9pm and 9am (bottom). Data acquisition software Appropriate spectrum analyzer measurement settings were chosen in order to obtain good time and frequency resolution. A lower value of the frequency resolution yields less noisy measurements (better sensitivity). A lower sweep time provides better time resolution, and thus more accurate time occupation statistics. The spectrum analyzer settings shown in Table 1 were used. For the chosen spectrum analyzer parameters, we measured the approximate noise level. This is an estimation of the noise power density in the 2355-2405 MHz band (it accounts for measurement noise), which was measured to be Pn 160 dBm/Hz. In this spectrum occupation study, a semi-urban scenario was considered. The spectrum analyzer was located inside an ofce in the High Tech Campus, Eindhoven, with the antenna placed in front of a glass wall. The campus is located near the city center of Eindhoven and it is surrounded by elds

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Figure 3: CCDF of the received power in the range 23552405 MHz. and have a more discontinuous trafc pattern, which may be used for amateur low-rate data transmission. These are the signals centered around the frequencies 2362.48, 2376, and 2386.83 MHz. The fourth one, centered at 2400.05 MHz, operates 24 hours continuously, which may be an unmanned amateur relay service (packet-radio or FM relay stations). Three continuous wideband (day and night streaming) signals can be also identied around different frequencies, spanning about 3.7, 6.2 and 10 MHz, which may correspond to amateur TV (ATV) transmissions. The rst one, with about 3.7 MHz of bandwidth, may be an audio signal from an ATV station. The other two signals, with about 6.2 MHz and 10 MHz bandwidth, are possibly ATV signals with vestigial sideband modulation and double sideband modulation, respectively. Note that the wideband signals are received with much lower power than the narrowband signals discussed earlier. During the 9pm-9am measurement, a radio operating in the ISM band can also be clearly seen, centered at 2402 MHz. This is a Nordic radio present inside the building, which transmits with a bandwidth below 1 MHz. Note that the 9am9pm and 9pm-9am measurements were not done on the same

Figure 4: CCDF of the received power around 2362.45 MHz. day, which is why this radio can not be seen in the 9am-9pm spectrogram. 4. POWER SPECTRUM STATISTICS In this section, we present the extracted statistics for the received power in a 3-hour measurement carried out between 9 and 12am. The power spectral density in the 2355-2405 MHz band is shown in Figure 2. The gure shows the average power spectral density, the maximum (max hold function in the spectrum analyzer) and minimum power density registered at each frequency bin during the 3-hour measurement period and the estimated noise power density. Note that this noise power density is an approximation measured directly with the spectrum analyzer. In fact, the average power spectral density at frequencies where no signals are present corresponds indeed to the noise power density. The maximum values give an indication of how high the transmit power may be at each frequency when there is a signal present. As in the 24-hour measurements discussed earlier, we can also identify here clearly 3 narrowband signals and 2 wideband signals. The third wideband signal, in the range 2389.1-2399.1 MHz,

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Figure 5: CCDF of the received power around 2376 MHz.

Figure 6: CCDF of the received power around 2386.83 MHz.

cannot be easily indentied in this gure. Although the average, maximum and minimum received power give important information on the sensed signals, we seek a more meaningful statistical measure for the received power. The CCDF of the received power is shown in Figure 3 (top). In order to identify the received signals more clearly, we also plot the projection of the CCDF onto a 2D plane (bottom). The CCDF shows the probability that the received power exceeds the value shown in the abscissa (labeled as Received Power), at a given frequency. The CCDF is shown for all frequency bins, each with a bandwidth of 30 kHz. Hence, the received power corresponds to the sensed power within the resolution bandwidth (RBW), which is related to the power spectral density as PdBm = PdBm/Hz + 10 log10 RBW . The plot clearly highlights the frequencies at which signals are sensed at some point during the 3-hour measurement period. In the remainder of this section, we show in detail the statistics for the received power of the narrowband sensed signals received with higher power, using a reduced span of 2 MHz at the spectrum analyzer and a sweep time of 5

ms. These statistics were obtained from measurements carried out between 9 and 10am. The CCDF of the sensed signals around 2362.48 MHz, 2376 MHz, 2386.83 MHz, and 2400.05 MHz are shown in Figures 4, 5, 6, and 7, respectively. The signal centered at 2362.48 MHz has an approximate bandwidth of 50 kHz. A second signal, with a bandwidth below 5 kHz can be seen around 2362.6 kHz. The signal centered at 2376 has an approximate bandwidth of 60 kHz. The intermodulation effects of this signal can be clearly observed in Figure 5, below and above the center frequency. Other narrowband signals, with lower received power, can be observed at 2375.5 (BW < 60 kHz), 2376.26 (BW < 5 kHz) and 2376.75 MHz (BW < 5 kHz). The signal centered at 2386.83 MHz has an approximate bandwidth of 60 kHz. The intermodulation effects of this signal can also be observed below and above the center frequency. Other narrowband signals, with lower received power, can be observed at 2386.1 (BW < 50 kHz) and 2387 MHz (BW < 5 kHz). The signal centered at 2400.05 MHz has an approximate

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Table 2: Average occupation times Center Average Average Frequency Occupation Occupancy Time [MHz] [ms] [%] 2362.48 0.1450 0.4 2376.00 0.0589 0.1 2386.83 7.2115 16.7 2400.05 1.1277 2.2 If the received power es below the power threshold, i.e. PRX < Pth , then the frequency bin is free (idle state). On the other hand, if PRX Pth , then the frequency bin is occupied. Pth must be a few dB above the noise oor within the frequency bin, Pn . By inspection of the obtained power statistics, we nd that a reasonable threshold is Pth = Pn + 10dB, where a margin of 10 dB above the noise level is used. A way to validate the threshold used is to make sure that in frequency ranges with no transmissions present the resulting average occupancy is close to zero. Using the estimated power spectral density of the noise, 160 dBm/Hz, and given that the resolution bandwidth is set to 30 kHz, we have that Pn 160 + 10 log(RBW ) 115 dBm. For a given frequency span, the number of effective frequency bins equals the number of data points, which in these measurements was set to 1001. The average occupation times obtained for the frequencies mentioned are summarized in Table 2. The highest average occupancy is experienced at 2386.83 MHz, with the wireless medium occupied for almost 17% of the time. Figure 8 shows the average occupancy in percentage of time, while Figure 9 shows the CDF of the time occupation in milliseconds at 2386.83 MHz. The average occupancy and the CDF of the time occupation at 2400.05 MHz are shown in Figure 11 and Figure 12, respectively. In addition to an estimate of the CDF, the gure shows a lower bound on the CDF. This lower bound is a worst case scenario from the point of view of spectrum occupancy. It takes into account the fact that the spectrum is not measured continuously, and that a sampling period approximately equal to the chosen sweep time (5 ms) is used, which varies in practice. For instance, if the medium is detected as being unoccupied in two consecutive time instants, tn and tn+1 , the CDF lower bound will assume that in the worst case the medium was busy during T < tn+1 tn . The most relevant measure of the time occupancy is given however by the CDF estimate. The estimate on the CDF assumes that if the medium in not occupied between tn and tn+1 , the medium was free during T = tn+1 tn ms. The point at which the estimated CDF and the lower bound coincide provide an important time occupancy measure, since most signals will use the medium for a time duration below this threshold. This value can be used for the purpose of designing spectrum sensing algorithms in the 2.36-2.4 GHz band. Looking closely at the CDFs for the narrowband signals studied here, we observe that in most cases (96% or more) the time occupancy of a given transmission is below 80 ms, which highlights the burstiness of those signals. The narrowband signals centered around 2362.48 MHz, 2376 MHz, and 2400.05 MHz yield values even lower than 80 ms.

Figure 7: CCDF of the received power around 2400.05 MHz. bandwidth of 50 kHz. Other narrowband signals, with lower received power, can be observed in Figure 7 at 2399.4 MHz and 2400.1 MHz, both with bandwidths below 5 kHz. A signal in the ISM band, centered around 2402 MHz is also received with high power. 5. STATISTICS OF TIME OCCUPATION AND IDLE TIME In a cognitive radio setting, secondary users have to be able to detect the presence of other radios that use the same spectrum band. In the remainder of this section, we show the time occupation and idle time statistics for the narrowband signals received with higher power, namely those centered around 2362.48 MHz, 2376 MHz, 2386.83 MHz, and 2400.05 MHz, as previously discussed. The extracted time occupation and idle time statistics are based on power detection, which is one of the simplest spectrum sensing techniques. Other methods, such as cyclostationarity feature detection or wavelet-based detection, can alternatively be used to detect the presence of other signals. A power detection technique was used to divide portions of the sensed spectrum as occupied or free, based on a power threshold:

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Probability(Tocc xaxis)

Table 3: Average idle times Center Average Average Frequency Idle Idleness Time [MHz] [%] 2362.48 167.1 s 99.6 2376.00 31.26 s 99.9 2386.83 165.5 ms 83.3 2400.05 2.403 s 97.8
18 16

1 0.98 0.96 0.94 0.92 0.9 0.88 0.86 0.84 0.82 CDF Lower Bound CDF Estimate mean

Average Occupancy [percent]

14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 2385.5 2386 2386.5 2387 Frequency [MHz] 2387.5 2388


Probability(Tidle xaxis)

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Figure 9: CDF of time occupancy around 2386.83 MHz.


1 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0 CDF Lower Bound CDF Estimate mean

Figure 8: Average occupancy around 2386.83 MHz. The average idle times obtained for the 4 narrowband signals discussed above are summarized in Table 3. The lowest average idleness is experienced at 2386.83 MHz, with the wireless medium idle for approximately 165.5 ms in average. Figure 10 shows the CDF of the idle time in milliseconds at 2386.83 MHz, while Figure 13 shows the CDF of the idle time at 2400.05 MHz in seconds. The obtained results show that large idle periods are available accross all frequencies, which would easily make possible the operation of listenbefore-talk protocols. We point out that the obtained time occupation and idleness statistics are dependent on the detection algorithm used, the locations of the receiver and the locations of the transmitters where signals are originated. Hence, while the actual time occupation sensed near the transmitter location may be higher, it will be perceived as lower at the receiver side due to propagation losses and fading. 6. CONCLUDING REMARKS Our measurement results show that large portions of the 2.36-2.4 GHz band are indeed empty, with low or very low power levels sensed from existing systems at the receivers location. Hence, on the basis of the available measurements, this band seems to be suitable for medical body sensor networks. However, it should be noted that our measurements were conducted only at a specic site. Since the statistics in this frequency range may change quite locally, a more extensive measurement campaign is required to analyze spectrum occupancy in this band across Europe. In our measurements, carried out in a semi-urban sce-

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Figure 10: CDF of idle time around 2386.83 MHz. nario, 3 continuous wideband (streaming) signals have been identied, received with very low power, spanning about 3.7, 6.2 and 10 MHz, which may correspond to ATV transmissions. 4 narrowband transmissions have been identied with moderate received power levels and bandwidths between 50 and 60 kHz. Other narrowband signals were also identied, with bandwidths below 5 kHz. These signals may correspond to amateur voice or low-rate data transmission services and are difcult to detect when using large spectrum sensing bandwidths. A simple power detection technique was used to divide portions of the sensed spectrum as occupied or free, based on a power threshold. The results show that the narrowband trafc present is bursty, with time occupations below 80 ms in most cases. This fact can be taken into account for designing spectrum sensing algorithms in the 2.36-2.4 GHz band. REFERENCES [1] V. Blaschke, H. Jaekel, T. Renk, C. Kloeck and F. K. Jondral, Occupation Measurements Supporting

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14 12 Average Occupancy [percent]

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Figure 11: Average occupancy around 2400.05 MHz.

Figure 13: CDF of idle time around 2400.05 MHz. [6] A. Ghasemi and E. S. Sousa, Spectrum sensing in cognitive radio networks: requirements, challenges and design trade-offs, IEEE Communications Magazine, pp. 32-39, Apr. 2008. [7] S. Haykin, D. J. Thomson and J. H. Reed, Spectrum Sensing for Cognitive Radio, Proceedings of the IEEE, pp. 849-877, May 2009. [8] Online: http://www.agentschap-telecom.nl [9] ITU Document: MMSM/07, ITU Survey on Radio Spectrum Management, ITU Workshop on Market Mechanisms for Spectrum Management, January 2007. [10] CEPT/ERC/REC 62-02 E, Harmonised Frequency Band for Civil and Military Airborne Telemetry Applications, Tromso, Norway, 1997. [11] Online: http://www.es.dk [12] 47 C.F.R. 2.106, FCC Online Table of Frequency Allocations, Revised on March 25, 2009. [13] RR2008, ITU: The Radio Regulations, Edition of 2008.

1 0.99 0.98 0.97 0.96 0.95 0.94 0.93 0.92 0.91 0.9 CDF Lower Bound CDF Estimate mean 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 Occupancy Time [ms] 70 80 90 100

Figure 12: CDF of time occupancy around 2400.05 MHz.

[2]

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Dynamic Spectrum Allocation for Cognitive Radio Design, CROWNCOM, Aug 2007. D. A. Roberson, C. S. Hood, J. L. LoCicero and J. T. MacDonald, Spectral Occupancy and Interference Studies in support of Cognitive Radio Technology Deployment, IEEE Workshop on Networking Technologies for Software Dened Radio Networks, pp 26-35, Sept 2006. M. Wellens, J. Wu and P. Mahonen, Evaluation of Spectrum Occupancy in Indoor and Outdoor Scenario in the Context of Cognitive Radio, CROWNCOM, Aug 2007. FCC - NPRM, In the Matter of Amendment of the Commissions Rules to Provide Spectrum for the Operation of Medical Body Area Networks, FCC 09-57, June 2009. ETSI TR 102 655, Electromagnetic compatibility and Radio spectrum Matters (ERM); System reference document Short Range Devices (SRD); Low Power Active Medical Implants (LP-AMI) operating in a 20 MHz band within 2360 MHz to 3400 MHz, Nov. 2008.

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