As mobile services launch just next to television services in the UHF frequency band, broadcasters need to limit the interference from these new services to the television services that form the cultural backbone of Europe. The European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT) has developed and published CEPT Report 53 on the "harmonised technical conditions for the 694 -790 MHz ('700 MHz') frequency band in the EU for the provision of wireless broadband and other uses in support of EU spectrum policy objectives". The EBU participated in the technical studies that lead to this specification and has put together a Technology Fact Sheet to explain it.
Of particular importance is the out-of-band emission (OOBE) level of the LTE user equipment (UE). The limits specified in Asia and included in the global 3GPP specifications for this band are considerably relaxed compared to those required to maintain broadcasters' existing protection levels, and are based on rather crude assumptions. Calculations, simulations and technical characteristics were provided by the EBU-SDB group to the CEPT activity on this subject.
CEPT agreed in Report 53 on a compromise limit of -42 dBm/8 MHz for an LTE700 UE using 10 MHz bandwidth for the protection of Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) fixed rooftop reception. This takes into account the technical feasibility and the targeted global harmonization of the UE characteristics. This limit will have to be met by all the LTE User Equipment’s that operate in Europe, once included in the related European standards. It is proposed that this requirement should be included in the 3GPP specifications as well.
To access the Technology Fact Sheet, click here.
How can EBU T&I help?
The EBU Technology & Innovation team, and in particular, the project group SMR/SDB, contributes to the relevant CEPT and ITU Technical Groups dealing with interference, compatibility and sharing with DTT. It also provides EBU members with information and advice on the actions to take on a national level. The SMR/EIC group monitors and contributes to the standardization activities (i.e. in CENELEC and ETSI) which helps improve the protection of broadcasting reception.