ETSI TR 103 064 V1.1.1 (2011-04)

Reconfigurable Radio Systems (RRS); Business and Cost considerations of Software Defined Radio (SDR) and Cognitive Radio (CR) in the Public Safety domain

DTR/RRS-04007

General Information

• Status: Published
• Publication Date: 06-Apr-2011
• Technical Committee: RRS 4 - Civil Security & Inter-Domain Synergies
• Current Stage: 12 - Completion
• Due Date: 13-Apr-2011
• Completion Date: 07-Apr-2011

Standards Content (Sample)

Technical Report
Reconfigurable Radio Systems (RRS);
Business and Cost considerations of
Software Defined Radio (SDR) and
Cognitive Radio (CR) in
the Public Safety domain
2 ETSI TR 103 064 V1.1.1 (2011-04)

Reference
DTR/RRS-04007
Keywords
radio, safety
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3 ETSI TR 103 064 V1.1.1 (2011-04)
Contents
Intellectual Property Rights . 4
Foreword . 4
Introduction . 4
1 Scope . 5
2 References . 5
2.1 Normative references . 5
2.2 Informative references . 5
3 Definitions and abbreviations . 6
3.1 Definitions . 6
3.2 Abbreviations . 7
4 Relevant input from other organizations . 9
4.1 Organizations . 9
4.1.1 ETSI TETRA . 9
4.1.2 PSCE Public Safety Communication Europe (NARTUS) . 9
4.1.3 Wireless Innovation Forum . 10
4.2 Projects . 10
4.2.1 EULER project . 10
5 Requirements and evolution paths for the Public Safety domain . 10
5.1 Introduction . 10
5.2 Public Safety requirements . 12
5.3 Potential evolution paths for Public Safety communications . 13
6 Reconfigurability benefits and trade-offs . 16
7 Business and cost considerations for SDR in Public Safety . 27
7.1 Introduction . 27
7.2 SDR architectures and main components . 27
7.3 Cost implications and trade-offs for SDR components . 28
8 Business and cost considerations for CR in Public Safety . 30
8.1 Introduction . 30
8.2 Economical benefits and trade-offs of CR . 31
9 Lifecycle and Deployment aspects . 32
9.1 Equipment lifecycle . 32
9.2 Deployment considerations . 32
9.3 Certification considerations . 33
10 Business models for RRS technologies in Public Safety domain . 33
10.1 Vertical business model . 33
10.2 Open business model . 33
11 Conclusions . 34
History . 35

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4 ETSI TR 103 064 V1.1.1 (2011-04)
Intellectual Property Rights
IPRs essential or potentially essential to the present document may have been declared to ETSI. The information
pertaining to these essential IPRs, if any, is publicly available for ETSI members and non-members, and can be found
in ETSI SR 000 314: "Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs); Essential, or potentially Essential, IPRs notified to ETSI in
respect of ETSI standards", which is available from the ETSI Secretariat. Latest updates are available on the ETSI Web
server (http://webapp.etsi.org/IPR/home.asp).
Pursuant to the ETSI IPR Policy, no investigation, including IPR searches, has been carried out by ETSI. No guarantee
can be given as to the existence of other IPRs not referenced in ETSI SR 000 314 (or the updates on the ETSI Web
server) which are, or may be, or may become, essential to the present document.
Foreword
This Technical Report (TR) has been produced by ETSI Technical Committee Reconfigurable Radio Systems (RRS).
Introduction
The present document provides a study of the business and cost considerations for the deployment of Software Defined
Radio and Cognitive Radio technologies (i.e. RRS technologies) in the Public Safety domain.
While RRS technologies can provide significant benefits and improve the operational capabilities of public safety
organizations, their implementation and deployment may be heavily dependent on cost trade-offs. Business and cost
considerations are common to all telecommunications markets, but there are significant differences between public
safety domain and the commercial domain. One difference is that funding for Public Safety organizations is usually
decided at political/government level and budget for new radio equipment may be limited or approved in specific
timeframes. Another difference is that radio equipment used by Public Safety organizations has usually a longer
lifecycle than a commercial domain. It is not uncommon the deployment of dedicated networks for 10-15 years of
service. The different operational requirements for security, availability and reliability have also a considerable impact
on the cost of communication equipment.
All these considerations may drive the evolution of communication technology in the Public Safety domain.
The present document describes the business and cost drivers, the potential evolution paths, the main specific features
of the Public Safety radio equipment and the potential economical benefits of RRS technologies.
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5 ETSI TR 103 064 V1.1.1 (2011-04)
1 Scope
The current trend in Public safety communications today are characterized by a patchwork of separate, sometimes
incompatible systems (e.g. TETRA and TETRAPOL) with widely varying capabilities in communicating between and
amongst systems and user radios. Another key challenge is the lack of broadband connectivity to support the
operational capabilities of Public Safety responders. Software Defined Radio (SDR) and Cognitive Radio (CR).
technologies, here collectively described as RRS technologies can be a key component to improve the interoperability
and to increase the flexibility and ability to public safety communications.
The scope of the present document is to investigate the business and cost considerations in the application of SDR and
CR to the Public Safety domain. In particular the present document presents:
• the impact of SDR/CR technologies on the lifecycle cost model for public safety communication equipment.
• identification of the benefits or disadvantages of SDR/CR technologies, from an economical point of view, in
comparison to conventional (but already digital) communication systems.
• definition of a business model able to develop the capabilities offered by SDR/CR adoption and to lower the
life cycle costs associated with SDR/CR introduction.
• Definition of a cost model for SDR/CR technologies in Public Safety.
2 References
References are either specific (identified by date of publication and/or edition number or version number) or
non-specific. For specific references, only the cited version applies. For non-specific references, the latest version of the
referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
Referenced documents which are not found to be publicly available in the expected location might be found at
http://docbox.etsi.org/Reference.
NOTE: While any hyperlinks included in this clause were valid at the time of publication ETSI cannot guarantee
their long term validity.
2.1 Normative references
The following referenced documents are necessary for the application of the present document.
Not applicable.
2.2 Informative references
The following referenced documents are not necessary for the application of the present document but they assist the
user with regard to a particular subject area.
[i.1] Public Safety Radio System Cost Model. SDRF-09-P-0001-V1.0.0. Wireless Innovation Forum
(ex SDR Forum). Approved 21 April 2009.
NOTE: Available at http://www.wirelessinnovation.org. Last accessed 21/01/2011.
[i.2] "TETRA versus GSM for Public Safety".
NOTE: Available in the reports section in
http://www.tetra-association.com/uploadedFiles/Files/Documents/TETRAorGSMinPS.zip.
[i.3] ETSI TR 102 745: "Reconfigurable Radio Systems (RRS); User Requirements for Public Safety".
[i.4] ETSI TR 102 680: "Reconfigurable Radio Systems (RRS); SDR Reference Architecture for
Mobile Device".
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6 ETSI TR 103 064 V1.1.1 (2011-04)
[i.5] ETSI TR 102 021 (parts 1 to 8): "Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA), User Requirement
Specification TETRA Release 2".
[i.6] Report for the TETRA association from Analysis Mason. Public Safety mobile broadband and
spectrum needs. Final Report 8 March 2010. 16395-94.
[i.7] Cognitive Radio Technology: A Study for Ofcom. Final Report, by QinetiQ LTD, Multiple Access
Communication Limited, University of Surrey, University of Strathclyde, and Red-M., dated
February 12, 2007.
[i.8] D3.13: "Market issues study".
NOTE: Available at http://www.psc-europe.eu in the library section. Last accessed 21/01/2011.
[i.9] ECC Decision (08)05 on the harmonisation of frequency bands for the implementation of digital
Public Protection and Disaster Relief (PPDR) radio applications in bands within the 380-470 MHz
range.
[i.10] ECC Recommendation (08)04 on the identification of frequency bands for the implementation of
Broad Band Disaster Relief (BBDR) radio applications in the 5 GHz frequency range.
[i.11] Jon M. Peha, "Sharing Spectrum through Spectrum Policy Reform and Cognitive Radio,"
Proceedings of the IEEE, Volume 97, Number 4, pp. 708-719, April 2009.
[i.12] ETSI TS 102 181 (V1.2.1): "Emergency Communications (EMTEL); Requirements for
communication between authorities/organisations during emergencies".
[i.13] WINTSEC, D2.2: System Architecture for Interoperability - Core Network Layer, Roadmap for
Subsystem Integration.
[i.14] D2.1: "Report on ICT Research and Technology Development status for public safety".
NOTE: Available at http://www.psc-europe.eu in the library section. Last accessed 21/01/2011.
[i.15] ETSI EN 300 392-1 (V1.4.1): "Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA); Voice plus Data (V+D);
Part 1: General network design".
[i.16] ETSI TR 101 448 (V1.1.1): "Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA); Functional requirements for the
TETRA ISI derived from Three-Country Pilot Scenarios".
[i.17] "TETRA and the Inter System Interface (ISI)", white paper by TETRA Association, August 2010.
NOTE: Available at http://www.tetramou.com/ in Library/Reports. The white paper describes the status of
TETRA interoperability and the Inter System Interface (ISI).
3 Definitions and abbreviations
3.1 Definitions
For the purposes of the present document, the following terms and definitions apply:
Cognitive Radio (CR): radio, which has the following capabilities:
• to obtain the knowledge of radio operational environment and established policies and to monitor usage
patterns and users' needs;
• to dynamically and autonomously adjust its operational parameters and protocols according to this knowledge;
• in order to achieve predefined objectives, e.g. more efficient utilization of spectrum; and
• to learn from the results of its actions in order to further improve its performance.
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7 ETSI TR 103 064 V1.1.1 (2011-04)
Cognitive Radio System (CRS): radio system, which has the following capabilities:
• to obtain the knowledge of radio operational environment and established policies and to monitor usage
patterns and users' needs;
• to dynamically and autonomously adjust its operational parameters and protocols according to this knowledge
in order to achieve predefined objectives, e.g. more efficient utilization of spectrum; and
• to learn from the results of its actions in order to further improve its performance.
NOTE 1: Radio operational environment encompasses radio and geographical environments, and internal states of
the Cognitive Radio System.
NOTE 2: To obtain knowledge encompasses, for instance, by sensing the spectrum, by using knowledge data base,
by user collaboration, or by broadcasting and receiving of control information.
NOTE 3: Cognitive Radio System comprises a set of entities able to communicate with each other (e.g. network
and terminal entities and management entities).
NOTE 4: Radio system is typically designed to use certain radio frequency band(s) and it includes agreed schemes
for multiple access, modulation, channel and data coding as well as control protocols for all radio layers
needed to maintain user data links between adjacent radio devices.
public safety organization: organization which is responsible for the prevention and protection from events that could
endanger the safety of the general public
NOTE: Such events could be natural or man-made. Example of Public Safety organizations are police,
fire-fighters and others.
radio technology: technology for wireless transmission and/or reception of electromagnetic radiation for information
transfer
RRS network node: wireless communication terminal or base station which has cognitive radio capabilities or which is
based on software defined radio concepts
non-RRS network node: wireless communication terminal or base station, which does not have cognitive radio
capabilities or is not based on software defined radio concepts
EXAMPLE: A non-RRS network node is a conventional wireless communications systems based on TETRA
standard version 1.
3.2 Abbreviations
For the purposes of the present document, the following abbreviations apply:
A/D Analog Digital
AAA Authentication, Authorization and Accounting
ADC Analog-to-Digital Converter
APCO Association of Public Safety Communications Officials, International, Inc
API Application Programming Interfaces
BBDR Broad Band Disaster Relief
BS Base Station
CAP Common Alerting Protocol
CEPT European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administration
COMSEC Communication Security
CORBA Common Object Request Broker Architecture
CR Cognitive Radio
D/A Digital Analog
DAC Digital-to-Analog Converter
DDC Data Download Control
DEC DECoder
DMO Direct Mode of Operation
DQPSK Differential Phase Shift Keying
DSP Digital Signal Processor
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8 ETSI TR 103 064 V1.1.1 (2011-04)
DUC DLC User Connection
ECC Electronic Communication Committee
ENB Equivalent Noise Bandwidth
FCC Federal Communication Commission
FM Frequency Modulation
FPGA Field Programmable Gate Array
GPRS General Package/Packet Radio Service
GPU Graphics Processing Unit
GSM Global System for Mobile communications
HMI Human Machine Interface
HQ Head Quarters
HW HardWare
ICT Information and Communication Technologies
IF Intermediate Frequencies
ISDN Integrated Service Data Network
ISI Inter System Interface
LAN Local Area Network
LINK Access link
LTE Long Term Evolution
MS Mobile Station
NET Network
NMS Network Management System
NSD Noise Spectral Density
OE Operating Environment
OFCOM UK communications regulator
OFDMA Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access
PAMR Public Access Mobile Radio
PC Personal Computer
PHY PHYsical
PIM Platform Independent Model
PMR Professional Mobile Radio
PPDR Public Protection and Disaster Relief
PS Public Safety
PSAP Public Safety Answering Points
PSBL Public Safety Broadband License
PSC Public Safety Communications
PSCE Public Safety Communication Europe
PSM Platform Specific Model
PSSIG Public Safety Special Interest Group
PSSTC Public Safety Spectrum Trust Corporation
PTT Push to Talk
QAM Qadrature Amplitude Modulation
QoS Quality of Service
RAN Radio Access Network
RAT Radio Access Technologies
RF Radio Frequency
RRS Reconfigurable Radio Systems
RX interface signal Receiver
SCA Software Communications Architecture
SDR Software Defined Radio
SDRF Software Defined Radio Forum
SEC Security
SRT Smart Radio Terminal
SW Software
SwCN Switching and Control Link
SwMI Switching and Management Infrastructure
TDM Time Division Multiplexing
TEDS TETRA Enhanced Data Service
TETRA TErrestrial Trunked Radio
TETRAPOL Proprietary digital private mobile radio network
TIP Tetra Interoperability Profiles
TRANSEC Transmission Security
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9 ETSI TR 103 064 V1.1.1 (2011-04)
UHF Ultra High Frequency
UMTS Universal Mobile Telecommunications System
VHF Very High Frequency
WiMAX Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access
WinF Wireless Innovation Forum
xPSK any Phase Shit Keying
4 Relevant input from other organizations
This clause provides the list of input documents and information sources, which are relevant to the present document.
The list includes deliverables and other documentation produced by organizations or projects.
Clauses 4.1.and 4.2 list the more relevant references and the relevant information to the present document.
NOTE: As described in the scope of the present document is to define the System Design aspects for the
application of RRS to the Public Safety domain. The scope is not to define a new radio system for Public
Safety. This means that some of the listed references will not be a direct input to the present document,
even if they may still provide useful information.
EXAMPLE: An input document may describe Public Safety communication standards, which an RRS platform
should support through waveforms.
4.1 Organizations
4.1.1 ETSI TETRA
TErrestrial Trunked RAdio (TETRA) is a digital trunked mobile radio standard developed to meet the needs of
traditional Professional Mobile Radio (PMR) user organizations such as:
• Public Safety.
• Transportation.
• Utilities.
• Government.
• Military.
• PAMR.
• Commercial & Industry.
• Oil and Gas.
The document [i.17] is relevant for the present document. The white paper describes the status of TETRA
interoperability and the Inter System Interface (ISI).
4.1.2 PSCE Public Safety Communication Europe (NARTUS)
The project NARTUS focuses on establishing and facilitating a Forum for regular exchange of ideas, information,
experiences and best practices, and on seeking agreement among participating stakeholders.
The following documents are relevant for business and cost considerations:
• D2.1: "Report on ICT Research and Technology Development status for public safety". The purpose of the
present document is to provide a list of background technical material of relevance for public safety
communication [i.14].
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10 ETSI TR 103 064 V1.1.1 (2011-04)
• D3.13: "Market issues study". This document is intended for Public Safety Communications (PSC)
stakeholders, including members of the PSC services (fire, police, ambulance and civil protection),
manufacturers of PSC systems (applications, services, networks and terminals) and public authorities (strategic
planning and purchasing decision makers). It discusses the major market issues associated with Public Safety
Communications Services. The following issues are identified: the size of the Public Safety market, user
requirements and their impact on the network, the long in-service period of the technology and the costs and
the public-funded nature of the purchasing [i.8].
4.1.3 Wireless Innovation Forum
The Wireless Innovation Forum (WinF), which was previously called Software Defined Radio Forum (SDRF), is a
non-profit organization comprised of approximately 100 corporations from around the globe dedicated to promoting the
development, deployment and use of software defined radio technologies for advanced wireless systems.
The following documents are relevant for investigation of business and economic impact of SDR and CR technologies:
• Public Safety Radio System Cost Model. SDRF-09-P-0001-V1.0.0. This report, written by the Public Safety
Special Interest Group (PSSIG) of the SDR Forum, describes a tool for estimating total lifecycle costs
associated with any public safety radio system and a methodology for determining cost impact to that system
for incorporating new SDR technologies [i.1].
• Quantifying the Benefits of Cognitive Radio. WINNF-09-P-0012-V1.0.0. This report provides the results of an
extensive survey on open and public CR literature to assess the value proposition of CR [i.1].
WinF has also produced market studies on SDR and Public Safety, but they are not available per public access.
4.2 Projects
4.2.1 EULER project
The FP7 EULER project (www.euler-project.eu) gathers major players in Europe in the field of wireless systems
communication integration and software defined radio (SDR), is supported by a strong group of end-users, and aims to
define and actually demonstrate how the benefits of SDR can be leveraged in order to enhance interoperability in case
of crisis needed to be jointly resolved. The proposed activities span the following topics: proposal for a new
high-data-rate waveform for homeland security, strengthening and maturing ongoing efforts in Europe in the field of
SDR standardisation, implementation of Software defined radio platforms, associated assessment of the proposal for
high-data-rate waveform for security, and realisation of an integrated demonstrator targeted towards end-users.
Significant interaction with E.U stakeholders in the field of security forces management will contribute in shaping a
European vision for interoperability in joint operations for restoring safety after crisis.
5 Requirements and evolution paths for the Public
Safety domain
5.1 Introduction
Public Safety (PS) applications and related users represent a market environment, which can be quite different from the
commercial one regarding various aspects.
The main differences, both operational and technical, are described in Figure 1.
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11 ETSI TR 103 064 V1.1.1 (2011-04)
Unpredictable Limited and fragmented
operational conditions budget cycles
Technological obsolescence
Long equipment lifecycle
of communication equipment
Operational
Technical
Interoperability barriers Limited and fragmented
among vertical ICT systems radio frequency spectrum allocation
Lack of broadband connectivity

Figure 1: Specific features of the Public Safety domain
• Limited and fragment budget cycles. Funding for PS organizations is usually decided at
political/government level and budget for new radio equipment may be limited or approved in specific
timeframes. Furthermore, the budget is usually allocated to different public safety organizations.
• Unpredictable operational conditions. Natural disasters and emergency crisis are often unpredictable and
they require PS officers to operate in difficult environment due to degraded or destroyed infrastructures.
• Long equipment lifecycle. Dedicated network infrastructures for PS organizations are usually created and
deployed for a long timeframe (e.g. 10 to 15 years).
• Technological obsolescence. Because of the long equipment lifecycles, specific requirements and smaller
market size, the services offered by PS communication equipment are usually less sophisticated than their
commercial counterparts.
• Interoperability barriers. Interoperability barriers among the communication systems of various PS
organizations are still present both a national level (among public safety organizations of the same region or
nation) and at European level among PS organizations from different nations. Interoperability barriers are
usually based on historical reasons: communication networks are created by each PS organization with a
vertical structure to address the specific requirement of the organization.
• Limited or fragmented radio frequency spectrum allocation. Radio frequency spectrum is allocated to
various PS organizations in a fragmented way. Furthermore, in specific geographical regions (e.g. Europe),
spectrum can be allocated differently at national level.
• Lack of broadband connectivity. Existing or new PS applications are driving the need for broadband
connectivity to transmit images or video, but there may not be available spectrum to support such needs. As
consequence of changes in working practices, PS users are requiring broadband network capability in order to
carry out video image transferring other than voice channel groups, all that maintaining a minimum level of
resilience (see note), that is the combination of availability and reliability.
NOTE: Public Safety networks and terminals have to satisfy severe requirements of availability (i.e. 0,99999) and
reliability meant as the capacity to withstand and recovery from failures.
Beyond these specific features, PS domain has also specific operational requirements, which are defined in clause 5.2.
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12 ETSI TR 103 064 V1.1.1 (2011-04)
5.2 Public Safety requirements
This clause has the purpose to identify the public safety requirements, which are the main cost drivers for the
deployment of SDR and CR technologies in the Public Safety domain.
We can identify the following requirements:
• Interoperability. Public Safety organizations use a variety of communications systems based on different
standards: mainly TETRA + TETRAPOL, but also Satellite communications, analog PMR, commercial
systems (e.g. GSM/GPRS/LTE) and others. Such variety can create interoperability barriers for Public Safety
responders and control centres.
• Radio coverage. Public Safety organizations need to operate both outdoor and indoor in variety of operational
contexts including urban and rural areas.
• High data-rate communication. New public safety applications (e.g. mobile video surveillance) require
wideband (i.e. 100 Kbits to 1 Mbits), and broadband connectivity (i.e. > 1 Mbits).
• Security. The network has to guarantee the protection of the transmitted/stored data and regulated access to
communication services.
• Resilience, meant by the combination of availability and reliability. Public Safety networks and terminals have
to satisfy severe requirements of availability (i.e. 0,99999) and reliability meant as the capacity to withstand
and recovery from failures.
• Upgradeability. The deployment of dedicated Public Safety networks is usually very demanding for Public
Safety organizations from an economic point of view. A national or regional network is usually an investment
for 10 to 15 years or more.
• Energy efficiency. Public Safety officers are supposed to work and use their communications equipment for all
the duration of an emergency crisis, which can last many hours or days. For usability reasons, handheld
terminals cannot have large or heavy batteries. As a consequence, energy efficiency is an important
requirement.
• Waveform reconfigurability. The capability to activate different waveforms to adapt to the environment
conditions and equipment of the various public safety organizations.
The requirements described above translate to technical requirements and specifications for networks based on SDR and
CR technology. For example, interoperability requires that a handheld terminal is able to establish a wireless connection
to various communication systems and in a wider set of frequencies than a conventional terminal. This implies that the
handheld terminal could be equipped with various front-ends and antenna. High-data-rate communication may instead
have an impact on frequency plan and the related frequency management.
Communication systems based on SDR and CR technologies have to validate the technical requirements of the
communications technologies used in the Public Safety domain including TETRA [i.5], Satellite Communications,
Analog PMR and even commercial systems (e.g. LTE). The technical requirements are defined in the respective
technical standards , but some common requirements include:
• Dynamic range: the need for high quality voice requires stringent adjacent channel rejection and intermod
rejection requirements, which translates to A/D converters with many bits.
• Spectral purity in transmission: this requirement imposes stringent specification to transmit modulator
(including D/A converters), power amplifiers, frequency synthesizer design, and transmission filtering.
The technical requirements and specifications, with further detail, are investigated separately for SDR and CR
technology in clause 7.
Beyond the requirements described above, business consideration for the deployment of SDR and CR technologies in
the Public Safety domain are also dependent on the potential evolution paths for Public Safety communications.
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13 ETSI TR 103 064 V1.1.1 (2011-04)
5.3 Potential evolution paths for Public Safety communications
At the current time (i.e. 2011), SDR and CR technologies are still considered in an early phase for deployment in the
Public Safety domain. Critics of SDR technology suggest that deployment of these technologies can happen from 5 to
15 years in the future depending on the complexity of the proposed solution or the market drivers. Consequently, it is
also important to describe what the potential evolution paths for Public Safety communications are. Each evolution path
can have a positive or negative impact on the deployment of SDR/CR technologies.
Today, the following trends are driving the evolution of Public Safety telecommunication technologies:
1) Voice communications has always been the main critical mission application, but data communication is
increasingly used to support a number of public safety applications.
2) The progress of the European integration is a driving force for a closer cooperation among Public Safety
organizations across Europe. As a consequence, there is increasing support at political level to remove
interoperability barriers (operational or technical) among national organizations or among European member
states.
3) Security challenges like terrorism and environment disasters have raised public awareness and increase the
political support to increase the capability and efficiency of Public Safety organizations.
4) Government entities, industry and regulators are advocating a closer integration between public safety and
commercial network infrastructures.
5) New public safety applications require new use and approaches for telecommunications: ad-hoc networks,
sensor networks, support to high data rate ground-air links are some examples.
On the other side, conservative forces may obstacle the evolution of Public Safety communications:
1) Public Safety organizations have already made large investment in dedicated networks based on TETRA and
TETRAPOL standards across Europe. It is unlikely that these infrastructures are replaced with new
technologies in the near future.
2) Security and data protection are essential requirements in the Public Safety domain. Public Safety
organizations have the concern that their data is safely protected from unwanted access by outsiders. Solutions
to provide full interoperability may not be accepted if they do not provide adequate security.
3) Radio Frequency spectrum is increasingly congested for an increasing number of services and it may not be
available for future technical solutions.
We can identify the following evolutions paths or future scenarios for Public Safety communications. Each of these
scenarios can have a significant impact on the development and adoption of SDR and CR technologies. The
implications of each evolution path are described below. More details are in the clause 7.
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14 ETSI TR 103 064 V1.1.1 (2011-04)
Table 1
Evolution Impact Implications for SDR technology Implications for CR technology
Slow incremental growth. In this evolution Deployment of SDR technology is Development of CR technology is
path, working methods and infrastructures slow as Public Safety organizations limited or nonexistent.
changes slowly. The deployment of new rely on existing dedicated
technologies is not encouraged and most infrastructures. The only
of the efforts are dedicated to increase the development is related to research
efficiency of existing dedicated project and prototypes.
infrastructures. Availability of economical The SDR developments in the
investment in the Public Safety sector is commercial and military domain are
limited. Voice communications remains not translated to similar development
dominant. There is lack of political support in the public safety domain.
for cross-border interoperability among
Public Safety organizations of different
member states. Public Safety network and
commercial networks are separated. No
new spectrum bands are allocated to
Public Safety.
Information driven growth. In this evolution Very simple SDR technology is used Simple form of spectrum sharing can
path, data communication is increasingly in prototypes. There may be a be implemented and deployed in
used to support voice communications. limited deployment of occasion of emergency crisis to
Wideband (i.e. up to 1 Mbits) multi-standards base stations and address the increase of traffic.
communications is available and it is used terminals, both vehicular and Simple multi-band base stations
to support a number of applications, handheld in pilot projects and trials handheld and terminals can be used
including the creation of a "situational to support cross-border to address the lack of harmonization
awareness picture" which can be shared interoperability and of spectrum bands across Europe.
among public safety officers in the field and inter-organizations communications.
in the control centres. Limited cross-border In this context multi-standards base
interoperability is available for voice and stations (both fixed and mobile)
some data applications. There is limited could be used as a "relay" between
use of commercial networks to support two different communications
non-mission critical applications. systems. Multi-standards terminals
Harmonized limited spectrum is allocated can also be used to interface both
to Public Safety. There is a limited public safety and commercial
integration between commercial and public networks.
safety networks.
Full multimedia and convergent networks. Full fledged SDR base stations and New spectrum management
In this evolution path, data communication terminals are deployed in the Public approach like Dynamic Spectrum
is the predominant form of communications Safety domain to provide full Access allows improved spectrum
and it is also used for mission critical interoperability. utilization.
applications. Political consensus is able to SDR technology is used to Ad-hoc networks based on CR
provide support for a significant integrated public safety dedicated technology can be used to support
improvement of public safety networks. networks and commercial networks. first time responders in the field.
Public Safety officers are used to conduct SDR base stations and terminals
their operation on the basis of broadband have the processing capability to
applications like common operational support a wide range of
picture. Interoperability barriers are communications standards.
removed through a number of Mass volume market and evolution
technological solutions both a field level of components technologies allow
and among control centres. Innovative economies of scale for SDR
approaches for spectrum management technologies and components and
allow a flexible use of the spectrum to upgrading of the Public Safety
accommodate needs of traffic capacity and networks infrastructures to SDR
broadband connectivity in the occurrence based technology
of emergency crisis or natural disasters. Multi-levels security is implemented
Commercial, military and public safety to provide support to public safety
networks are fully integrated with resource organizations with different levels of
management sharing solutions. security.

The above potential evolution path provide other reasons to adopt Reconfigurable architectures and the level to apply
reconfiguration (concerning functional requirements) and business involvement (useful characteristics offered by RRS
adoption and not by conventional products):
• Policies adoption can require the interoperability with different procedures and different communication
technologies due to national based different standards adoption. This can occur in cross-border operations or
international aid operations.
ETSI
15 ETSI TR 103 064 V1.1.1 (2011-04)
• Spectrum sharing procedures adoption that allow PS networks to enjoy strict pre-emption (of the portion of the
spectrum let to commercial and other entities) without fear of interference from these sharers.
• Definition of the main interfaces between PS networks and other networks to support interoperability at MS
and BS levels and joint resource management.
• Interaction between PS networks and local ones eventually still active in urban and sub-urban areas. Local
networks are different among geographical areas.
• Different policies and RAN technologies can be set and evolve independently.
Just for the sake of summary we can list the following reconfiguration related issues:
• Interoperability with national backbones, both public like 3/4 G and professional reserved like satellite
networks.
• Security policies adoption according to pre-set configurations or on-field dynamically managed.
• Spectrum policies adoption according to pre-set frequencies plans or on-field dynamically managed with
Cognitive Radio technologies.
• Interoperability among different RATs adopted by different PS involved users.
• Group-calls management through heterogeneous networks, where the term "heterogeneous" is due to different
RAT/N and different users with common policies to adopt.
• PS dedicated networks could provide a set of centralized services, with remote services eventually connected,
to the RATs and users involved on PS operations.
• Best effective adaptation to policies and technologies evolution.
The last issue could be the more sensitive reason to require RRS technology.
As far as spectrum policies are concerned, the SDR technology provides an effective contribution to the
interoperability but in order to complete the effort at radio communication infrastructure level, an European harmonized
spectrum policy has to be adopted. In 2008, ECC/CEPT committee provided a decision on the harmonization of
frequency bands for the implementation of digital Public Protection and Disaster Relief (PPDR) radio applications in
bands within the 380 MHz to 470 MHz frequency range (ECC/DEC/(08)05) [i.9]. This ECC Decision covers narrow
band (see note 1) as well as wide band (see note 2) PPDR radio applications. Spectrum within the duplex bands 380 to
385 MHz/390 to 395 MHz has been designated for narrow band PPDR radio applications.
NOTE 1: Channel spacing up to 25 KHz.
NOTE 2: Channel spacing of 25 KHz or more, at least up to 150 KHz.
The provisions of
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