Communications of the ACM
Military Considers Sharing Radar Frequencies With Wireless Networks
Wallops Island, off the coast of Virginia, is where the Navy and wireless researchers will test whether civilian wireless networks can use frequencies now confined to radar systems.
Credit: U.S. Navy
U.S. Navy researchers want to share rarely used wireless military frequencies so that new services can be developed.
The Navy is planning a test involving a powerful system that normally scans for incoming missiles and bombers. When the system is turned on, visiting academic and corporate researchers will tune portable wireless transmitters to the same frequency to see what happens.
"We will be running an LTE signal and understanding the impact of radar on that LTE signal," says Virginia Tech researcher Jeff Reed.
The test could pave the way for 4G LTE networks that institutions such as hospitals or public safety agencies could set up without relying on the major carriers. Policymakers and researchers hope the radar bands could lead to another way to provide long-range Wi-Fi with only small modifications to existing small-cell transmitters that support existing LTE and Wi-Fi.
After the test, the researchers say they will have a better idea of the precise conditions under which the spectrum sharing is feasible. The next step will be for the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to formally define a rule, which could take at least a year.
From Technology Review
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