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Business Review 1997-98 |
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Business Review 1997-98 |
Information Systems DevelopmentThe Agency depends on high quality, value for money information systems. As reported in the Report & Accounts, these will in future be provided by the joint venture company, Radio Spectrum International. Progress on the three key areas of the existing strategy during 1997/8 are described below.
The Agency has continued to review its internal processes and procedures as part of the RULES re-engineering programme intended to rationalise and improve the Agency's services to customers. In parallel the related IT project to replace all of the Agency's existing licensing systems with a unified approach is reaching its testing and implementation stages.
When complete, the RULES system will interface with frequency assignment spectrum management tools and other radio engineering systems. RULES is the main vehicle for delivering spectrum pricing and new style common standard licences, and is therefore of strategic importance in the delivery of the second wave of spectrum pricing in July 1999.
The Agency is installing a comprehensive, integrated accounting system under the ALPACA project. This project is expected to be completed in mid 1999/2000 after the sales ledger element is implemented. This new system produces the data needed for commercial-style accounts. Management information reports are being developed to meet requirements.
A Millimetric Waveband system (MMWB) was developed by the Agency during the period 1992 to 1995 to support the allocation, licensing and administration of fixed link wavebands in the millimetric range of frequencies. The initial implementation covered the 38GHz waveband only. In 1996, a new project (now known as FiLSM) was commenced to transfer the management of other fixed link wavebands to MMWB from existing but ageing systems. The next step will be for the Agency to take over management of bands currently managed by the two major operators. This will allow other operators to gain access to them and enhance competition.
The first phase of this work is planned to be completed in December 1998 and the remainder of the project to commence in January 1999. The project will ultimately cover both point-to-point and point-to-multipoint bands and bring the MMWB system into line with strategic developments of Agency licensing and financial systems, including the support of spectrum pricing.
The EROS office automation project is in its final stages, which mainly concern the implementation of a set of industry-standard hardware and software products across the whole Agency. The period ending March 1998 saw the completion of the rollout at all Agency outstations and the implementation of a specially developed training programme aimed at providing all users with the necessary skills fully to utilise the products. There remains only the Agency headquarters implementation before the project is complete.
Internal ResearchThe Radio Technology and Compatibility Group at Whyteleafe provides technical support to the Agency's engineers at headquarters, assisting them in determining the compatibility issues between emerging and existing radio systems. In addition to providing advanced computer simulations of radio networks, project work was undertaken involving the use of complex and advanced equipment, such as frequency agile signal simulators (FASS), signal processing work systems (SPW), gigahertz transverse electromagnetic (GTEM) cells, vector and spectrum analysers, and many more. Use was also made of the environmental and field test facilities. The Group's investigations thus extended the theoretical work carried out by headquarters engineers and complemented some of the longer term research work carried out by external organisations.
Much of RTCG's output contributed, directly or otherwise, to ITU-R, CEPT and ETSI studies, and recent projects have included DVB-T, ERMES, T-DAB, TETRA and UMTS. Other work has supported UK spectrum management policies, for example through establishing improved frequency assignment methods and through supporting the Agency's field staff.
The Agency initiated a research project into the problem of interference caused by "out of specification" ISM machines. The project was carried out by ERA Technology whose report "A development for an ISM harmonic RF attenuation model for combating interference generated by 13 MHz and 27 MHz industrial processing machines" identified various methods of improving the RF performance of machines and of improving screening to reduce interference. The results of this work have been published on the Agency's web site. An information sheet: "Interference from Radio Frequency (RF) Heating Machines" (RA 340) has been issued to assist users by drawing their attention to this potential interference problem and giving advice on what to do if interference occurs.
Spectrum engineering activity in support of international projects included the development and co-ordination of spectrum engineering studies to facilitate spectrum access for new radiocommunications systems and to protect existing systems. The international nature of radiocommunications and the desire to harmonise equipment markets requires these studies to be undertaken on a co-operative basis within the relevant organisations, for example in Europe (CEPT) and globally (ITU). The Agency plays a leading role in these organisations, directing and focusing the work to protect UK interests and maximise benefits for the UK business through opening up new overseas markets.
The Agency will be working to identify and implement a strategy that encourages and enables countries, especially within Europe, to co-ordinate their research activities in spectrum engineering, thus facilitating mutual benefit from results and to avoid duplication of effort.
The appointment of two further specialists in this area gives a total of five staff developing and implementing technical software. This has allowed more resources to be allocated to supplying radio engineering tools for individual use, as well as software modules for assignment systems such as FiLSM and SECOM, and the complete FLATCO system.
A standard Geographic Information System is now supported for Agency engineers which is rapidly entering widespread use. An initiative has also been started to investigate possible collaboration within the UK radio industry for a National Buildings Database suitable for use in radio planning.
The Agency's propagation specialists have continued to contribute to the international standardisation of propagation models. Recent submissions to the International Telecommunications Union have included refinements to diffraction methods, an extended roadside shadowing model for low-earth-orbit satellites, and new data on man-made radio noise.
Assignment software systems and individual Agency engineers increasingly rely on large volumes of digital data for displaying geographic maps, plotting land heights, etc. Much of this data is leased on an annual basis. Duplication has been avoided by using standardised software and data sets. An initiative has also been launched to investigate possible collaboration within the UK radio industry to share costs in this area.
A pilot version of the FLATCO software tool was put into operation. FLATCO facilitates the rapid clearance of Satellite News Gathering (SNG) terminals in the heavily used 14.25 to 14.5 GHz band, whilst protecting fixed service networks. The scope of the FLATCO project has recently been extended to encompass the functionality previously included in another software package, such as clearance against "sensitive" sites in the UK (e.g. airports), and to generate invoices.
External ResearchThe Agency spent about £2.5m on external research during 1997/98 in three broad categories as follows:
core propagation studies at Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL);
propagation research at universities;
extra-mural research and development, looking mainly at emerging areas of technology
as far as spectrum usage is concerned, and the use of mathematics in frequency
assignment and development of sharing models;
other studies in support of international activities.
Core research activities are aimed at advancing our knowledge of propagation mechanisms and how to predict their influence on radio systems. Future effort will concentrate on mobile propagation issues, particularly those which may impact on possible frequency band constraints for the third generation of mobile telecommunications.
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