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Spectrum Sharing and Coexistence between Terrestrial Wireless Systems and Passive Ground- and Satellite-based Receivers

Expert Meeting (virtual via Zoom)
Date: October 28, 2020
Time: 1:00pm – 5:00pm ET

Meeting Objective

This meeting will explore issues related to harmonious coexistence and
spectrum sharing between RF transmitters and passive receivers, including radio astronomy telescopes and satellite sensors. Spectrum sharing (SS) has been the subject of intensive research for at least two decades. Initial focus was on hierarchical (primary/secondary) models, such as opportunistic access of TV whitespaces and the multi-tier spectrum database server approaches in the 3.5 GHz CBRS band. More recently, sharing models and methods have included non-hierarchical (e.g., horizontal) forms between heterogeneous wireless systems, such as those used over the 5-6 GHz unlicensed UNII bands for the coexistence of unlicensed and off-loaded license systems (e.g., Wi-Fi/LTE-LAA/5G NR-U). To date, research has focused on systems with active transmitters. Coexistence and spectrum sharing with passive receivers, particularly those operating above 95 GHz, have not been adequately addressed and is still not well understood. Given the significant role that radio astronomy and satellite-based atmospheric sensing has in advancing our knowledge of the universe and the importance of forecasting weather and other vital activities on earth, it is very important to ensure that any new spectrum sharing policies do not cause harmful in-band or adjacent-band RFI to these passive  receivers. Experts representing diverse stakeholders (wireless researchers, radio astronomers, passive satellite users, spectrum managers, regulators, device manufacturers, etc.) will discuss the challenges and open issues relating to spectrum sharing and coexistence between active RF transmitters and passive receivers. Topics to be discussed include, but are not limited to:

  • Design of dynamic quiet zones for radio astronomy telescopes.
  • Adaptive wireless protocols for mitigating RFI on passive receivers.
  • Spectrum management and databases for coexistence over mmWave and Sub-THz bands.
  • Intrinsic and extrinsic RFI modeling.
  • Advanced antenna and filter designs for interference mitigation in the RF and IF domains.
  • Large-scale measurements and experimentation of coexistence scenarios.
  • Design challenges in space-based sensors.
  • Convergence of RF communications and sensing, and its relevance to coexistence with
    passive receivers.

Agenda

1:00pm – 1:15pm
1:15pm – 1:30pm

1:30pm – 3:15pm
3:15pm – 3:15pm
3:30pm – 5pm

Introduction of participants
Meeting overview and background (Ted Rappaport and Marwan Krunz)
Key issues and challenges for spectrum sharing below 95 GHz
Break
Key issues and challenges for spectrum sharing above 95 GHz