Home > News Centre > QinetiQ consortium wins Ofcom RF interference project
13 May 05
QinetiQ consortium wins Ofcom RF interference project
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This automatic system will ultimately 'police' RF spectrum
Following a comprehensive competitive tender process, Ofcom - through a Treasury funded Spectrum Efficiency Scheme*1 (SES) research and development programme - has awarded a QinetiQ-led consortium a £500,000 contract to deliver an operational automatic radio interference monitoring demonstration system. Once fully developed and deployed, this new system will enable Ofcom to efficiently pinpoint sources of interfering radio signals anywhere within the UK and to take appropriate actions to better manage and prevent misuse of the spectrum.
"This project perfectly demonstrates how QinetiQ is increasingly leveraging defence innovations into important commercial application," explained Hal Kruth, QinetiQ's Group Commercial Director. "Often the solutions we have developed for challenging defence applications have required us to develop technologies and capabilities which can be used effectively to solve some of the most important problems faced by society today, including facilitating mass communications, reducing pollution, treating disease and managing waste."
Ofcom regularly receives complaints about deliberate abuse of the available spectrum, but there are also a large number of companies and individuals that innocently cause varying degrees of RF interference. Pirate radio stations are an obvious example of deliberate hi jacking of the airwaves, but interference can equally be caused by poorly installed wireless LANS, older CB equipment and amateur radio, through to localised sources like mini-cabs or badly suppressed electrical equipment. Each of these can adversely affect critical systems for hospitals and airports, as well as domestic TV and radio reception, cellular telephones and data communications systems.
Since demand for access to the UK airwaves is growing, as people use more types of radio communications devices, perceived problems with interference are also increasing. This project is designed to provide Ofcom with the tools to better police current spectrum use and enable Ofcom to identify the source of any radio interference quickly. The £500k investment in this development will enable Ofcom to fulfil its monitoring and enforcement functions in a much more efficient manner than was possible with the labour-intensive manual interference detection methods used in the past.
Rhod Scott Wilson of QinetiQ's Spectrum Solutions added: "With our partners TRL Technology and Arup Communications, we will submit a technology demonstrator plus the recommendations from our comprehensive requirement study towards the end of 2005. At that point Ofcom will approve the overall requirement and equipment specification. The approved design will then be commercialised and rolled out across the UK to provide the national network."
Part of the first phase of the study is to formulate the design and technical requirements. Initial thinking is for a network of interconnected, rugged PC-sized, static passive systems that can be deployed across the country to provide comprehensive 24/7 spectrum monitoring and enforcement capabilities. The sensitivity of the system and therefore the required geographical spacing of the units has still to be finalised, as has the communications system, which could be fast data transfer on demand, over a mobile network.
QinetiQ has won the initial one-year contract in open tender, beating off significant commercial competition. Key contributing factors were QinetiQ's extensive heritage in relevant spectrum technologies; its range of world-class facilities; plus a combination of project management skills and technical expertise that will be applied to the project.
For detailed information and statistics on the scope of the RF problem in the UK and Ofcom's radio spectrum enforcement activities visit:
Following a comprehensive competitive tender process, Ofcom - through a Treasury funded Spectrum Efficiency Scheme*1 (SES) research and development programme - has awarded a QinetiQ-led consortium a £500,000 contract to deliver an operational automatic radio interference monitoring demonstration system. Once fully developed and deployed, this new system will enable Ofcom to efficiently pinpoint sources of interfering radio signals anywhere within the UK and to take appropriate actions to better manage and prevent misuse of the spectrum.
"This project perfectly demonstrates how QinetiQ is increasingly leveraging defence innovations into important commercial application," explained Hal Kruth, QinetiQ's Group Commercial Director. "Often the solutions we have developed for challenging defence applications have required us to develop technologies and capabilities which can be used effectively to solve some of the most important problems faced by society today, including facilitating mass communications, reducing pollution, treating disease and managing waste."
Ofcom regularly receives complaints about deliberate abuse of the available spectrum, but there are also a large number of companies and individuals that innocently cause varying degrees of RF interference. Pirate radio stations are an obvious example of deliberate hi jacking of the airwaves, but interference can equally be caused by poorly installed wireless LANS, older CB equipment and amateur radio, through to localised sources like mini-cabs or badly suppressed electrical equipment. Each of these can adversely affect critical systems for hospitals and airports, as well as domestic TV and radio reception, cellular telephones and data communications systems.
Since demand for access to the UK airwaves is growing, as people use more types of radio communications devices, perceived problems with interference are also increasing. This project is designed to provide Ofcom with the tools to better police current spectrum use and enable Ofcom to identify the source of any radio interference quickly. The £500k investment in this development will enable Ofcom to fulfil its monitoring and enforcement functions in a much more efficient manner than was possible with the labour-intensive manual interference detection methods used in the past.
Rhod Scott Wilson of QinetiQ's Spectrum Solutions added: "With our partners TRL Technology and Arup Communications, we will submit a technology demonstrator plus the recommendations from our comprehensive requirement study towards the end of 2005. At that point Ofcom will approve the overall requirement and equipment specification. The approved design will then be commercialised and rolled out across the UK to provide the national network."
Part of the first phase of the study is to formulate the design and technical requirements. Initial thinking is for a network of interconnected, rugged PC-sized, static passive systems that can be deployed across the country to provide comprehensive 24/7 spectrum monitoring and enforcement capabilities. The sensitivity of the system and therefore the required geographical spacing of the units has still to be finalised, as has the communications system, which could be fast data transfer on demand, over a mobile network.
QinetiQ has won the initial one-year contract in open tender, beating off significant commercial competition. Key contributing factors were QinetiQ's extensive heritage in relevant spectrum technologies; its range of world-class facilities; plus a combination of project management skills and technical expertise that will be applied to the project.
For detailed information and statistics on the scope of the RF problem in the UK and Ofcom's radio spectrum enforcement activities visit:
Notes for Editors:
*1 Spectrum Efficiency Scheme (SES)
The SES is a Treasury funded research and development programme managed through Ofcom with the aim of increasing the efficient use of the radio spectrum in the UK. It has been running for two years and has funded R&D projects up to £10m.
Consortium Partners
Other members of the QinetiQ led consortium comprise: TRL Technology Ltd has expertise in developing high performance intercept receivers and digital signal processing and in the manufacture of high technology products; and Arup Communications provides real world experience in the planning of large scale networks and the business cases and regulatory impact of such projects.
QinetiQ
QinetiQ (pronounced ki' ne tik as in 'kinetic energy') is Europe's largest science and technology solutions company with unrivalled expertise in the defence and security sectors. Founded In July 2001, from the majority of DERA (Defence Evaluation and Research Agency) the laboratories of the UK MOD, QinetiQ directly employs nearly 10,000 people, including many of the UK's leading scientists and internationally acclaimed experts. Today QinetiQ operates in markets as diverse as defence, security, automotive, information technology, health, aerospace, rail, telecommunications, electronics, space, marine, energy and oil & gas.
*1 Spectrum Efficiency Scheme (SES)
The SES is a Treasury funded research and development programme managed through Ofcom with the aim of increasing the efficient use of the radio spectrum in the UK. It has been running for two years and has funded R&D projects up to £10m.
Consortium Partners
Other members of the QinetiQ led consortium comprise: TRL Technology Ltd has expertise in developing high performance intercept receivers and digital signal processing and in the manufacture of high technology products; and Arup Communications provides real world experience in the planning of large scale networks and the business cases and regulatory impact of such projects.
QinetiQ
QinetiQ (pronounced ki' ne tik as in 'kinetic energy') is Europe's largest science and technology solutions company with unrivalled expertise in the defence and security sectors. Founded In July 2001, from the majority of DERA (Defence Evaluation and Research Agency) the laboratories of the UK MOD, QinetiQ directly employs nearly 10,000 people, including many of the UK's leading scientists and internationally acclaimed experts. Today QinetiQ operates in markets as diverse as defence, security, automotive, information technology, health, aerospace, rail, telecommunications, electronics, space, marine, energy and oil & gas.
Press Officer: Douglas Millard
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