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How does it help?

The demand for spectrum in the highly congested lower frequency bands of the spectrum is leading to the need to consider higher frequency communication systems. If greater use of the bands above 60GHz could be made then this would provide a useful increase in the spectrum available for new services outlined in our vision and could also release spectrum at lower frequencies for other purposes.

Millimetre wave communications systems at frequencies above 60 GHz have the potential for very high capacities. More than 10 GHz of bandwidth is available in the current frequency allocations offering the potential for provision of high data rates for future applications such as short range fixed links, broadband last mile applications, and indoor WLAN. Another attraction of exploiting these high frequencies is that devices naturally reduce in size with increasing frequency, leading to more flexible equipment.

Ofcom is researching this area to:

• Examine the higher frequency bands between 60GHz – 100GHz, identifying the potentially useful bands.
• Investigate the regulatory and economic issues involved, for example the implications of licensed versus licence-exempt use, in order to gain an understanding of the approach most likely to encourage innovation and usage of these bands.
• Identify the key obstacles to the usage of these bands, the breakthroughs required and the timescales which applications in these bands may be expected to emerge.

Demonstrator FSO/64GHz Fixed Link

A technology demonstrator has been installed exactly as if deployed on a commercial basis to provide connectivity between two network routers operating at Gigabit and 100BaseT data rates over a distance of approximately 450m in line-of-sight.

Figure 2 Demonstrator FSO/64GHz fixed link communications system

As the installation is intended to mimic a commercial deployment, network monitoring was established to generate alarms in the event of excessive latency and network link failures. CCTV cameras have been set up to enable real time visibility of both the equipment and the link path. This visual inspection is date and time stamped so can be correlated against any significant meteorological events that could affect the links.

A demonstrator system has now been commissioned with the objective of deploying a 64GHz radio system in a commercial environment to examine its performance and economic viability. The work will examine whether a hybrid system such as this can provide a true carrier grade (99.999%) wireless link over a 1km range.

The work has demonstrated that an operational range of sub 1km for wide bandwidth connectivity using 60GHz radio is practicable and provided installation is simple and rapid would appear to have multiple applications in campus networking and “last mile” environments.

Project status

The work has demonstrated the practicality of a dual frequency FSO/64GHz combined communications system deployed in a commercial environment. The system has demonstrated that there is the potential to provide very high availability for such an application. The system offers high spectral efficiency since it has a high frequency re-use factor by using the oxygen absorption band to suppress long distance mm wave transmissions.

The work leads us to conclude that higher frequency systems are possible within a five year timescale if the technology developments such as improved power generation occur as expected. However an appreciable cost decrease in cost of production of these systems is required to see wide commercial use. The most significant factor determining this occurring is the production of low cost mm wave component devices. Whether or not this will happen is likely to be driven by the demand for significantly more spectrum to provide wideband wireless services and applications.

Further work will establish whether the provision of more licensed or license-exempt spectrum in this area will promote better utilisation of the higher frequency bands, by for example giving more regulatory certainty which could encourage the production of low cost devices.

This project is now completed and the full report can be downloaded below.

• Radio Systems at 60GHz and Above [pdf]
  Published May 2006 - Size: 3.9MB

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