SRSP-513 — Technical Requirements for Advanced Wireless Services in the Bands 1710–1780 MHz and 2110–2180 MHz

Issue 4
September 29, 2022

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Preface

Standard Radio System Plan SRSP-513, Technical Requirements for Advanced Wireless Services in the Bands 1710-1780 MHz and 2110-2180 MHz, issue 4, replaces SRSP-513, issue 3, dated July 16, 2015. Issue 4 of SRSP-513 incorporates technical rules for active antenna systems (AAS).

The following are the main changes:

  1. Incorporated technical rules to facilitate the deployment of AAS.
  2. Made editorial updates throughout the document.

Issued under the authority of
the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry

Martin Proulx
Director General
Engineering, Planning and Standards Branch

1. Intent

1. This Standard Radio System Plan (SRSP) sets out the minimum technical requirements for the efficient use of advanced wireless services (AWS) in the bands 1710-1780 MHz and 2110-2180 MHz.

2. This SRSP is intended to be used in the design of radio systems and specifies the technical characteristics related to efficient spectrum usage only; it is not to be regarded as a comprehensive specification for equipment design and/or selection.

2. General requirements

3. This SRSP is based on the current or planned technologies being considered by the service providers in order to implement AWS in Canada. Revisions to this SRSP will be made as required.

4. Even if a system satisfies the requirements of this SRSP, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) may require modifications to radio and auxiliary equipment in radio stations whenever harmful interference is caused to other radio stations or systems. The term “harmful interference,” as defined in the Radiocommunication Act, means an adverse effect of electromagnetic energy from any emission, radiation or induction that:

  1. endangers the use or functioning of a safety-related radiocommunication system; or
  2. significantly degrades or obstructs, or repeatedly interrupts, the use or functioning of radio apparatus or radio-sensitive equipment.

5. Radio systems complying with these technical requirements will be given priority in licensing over non-standard radio systems operating in the bands 1710-1780 MHz and 2110-2180 MHz. The arrangements for non-standard systems are outlined in Spectrum Utilization Policy SP Gen, General Information Related to Spectrum Utilization and Radio Systems Policies.

6. ISED should be advised when potential conflicts between radio systems cannot be resolved in a timely fashion. After consulting with the parties concerned, ISED will determine the modifications to be made and the implementation schedule to be followed in order to resolve the conflict.

7. ISED may require licensees to use system receiver selectivity characteristics that provide improved rejection of harmful interference.

8. AWS equipment must be certified in accordance with Radio Standards Specification RSS-139, Advanced Wireless Services Equipment Operating in the Bands 1710-1780 MHz and 2110-2200 MHz.

9. Licensees are required to provide to ISED, upon request, information on certain technical parameters of their radio systems.

3. Related documents

10. All ISED publications related to spectrum management and telecommunications are available on the Spectrum Management and Telecommunications website. Refer to the following documents as needed:

Acronyms

CPC: Client Procedures Circular
CTFA: Canadian Table of Frequency Allocations
DGTP: Director General,Telecommunications Policy Branch
RP: Radio Systems Policy
RSP: Radio Standards Procedure
RSS: Radio Standards Specification
SLPB: Spectrum Licensing Policy Branch
SP: Spectrum Utilization Policy
SRSP: Standard Radio System Plan
TRAA: Terrestrial Radiocommunication Agreements and Arrangements
TRC: Telecommunications Regulation Circular

4. Definitions

11. The following terms are used in this document:

Active antenna system (AAS)
An antenna system where the amplitude and/or phase between antenna elements is dynamically adjusted, resulting in an antenna pattern that varies in response to short-term changes in the radio environment. An AAS may be integrated into a fixed or base station. An antenna system used for long-term beam shaping, such as fixed electrical down tilt, is not considered an AAS.

Antenna height above average terrain (HAAT)
The height of the centre of radiation of the antenna above the average elevation of the terrain between 3 and 16 km from the antenna, for an individual radial. The final antenna HAAT (also known as the effective height of the antenna above average terrain [EHAAT]) is the average of the antenna HAATs for 8 radials spaced every 45 degrees of azimuth starting with true north.

Frequency block group
A continuous range of multiple frequency blocks that contains the equipment's channel bandwidth.

Non-active antenna system (non-AAS)
An antenna system that does not meet the criteria of an AAS.

5. Band plan

12. The band plan consists of two sub-bands: the lower sub-band 1710-1780 MHz and the upper sub-band 2110-2180 MHz. These sub-bands are further divided into 11 paired blocks (labelled A-I, then J1 and J2) with a frequency separation of 400 MHz. See figure 1 for the band plan and block sizes respectively. Frequency blocks can be aggregated to form a frequency block group. A frequency block group is a continuous frequency range of multiple frequency blocks.

Figure 1: Band plan

Figure 1: Band plan (the long description is located below the image)
Description of figure 1

This figure shows the band plan for the bands 1710-1780 MHz and 2110-2180 MHz. It is fully explained in paragraph 12. The information is listed in the table below.

Frequency blocks in the bands 1710-1780 MHz and 2110-2180 MHz
BlockLower sub-band (MHz)Upper sub-band (MHz)Total spectrum (MHz)
Block A1710-17202110-212020
Block B1720-17302120-213020
Block C1730-17352130-213510
Block D 1735-17402135-214010
Block E1740-17452140-214510
Block F 1745-17552145-215520
Block G 1755-17602155-216010
Block H 1760-17652160-216510
Block I 1765-17702165-217010
Block J11770-17752170-217510
Block J21775-17802175-218010

13. Frequency division duplexing (FDD) is a technology that permits transmission and reception of signals on two different frequencies separated in the frequency spectrum by a predeterminated value (400 MHz in the case of AWS). If FDD techniques are applied in the sub-bands mentioned in paragraph 12, radio systems should use the lower sub-band for mobile transmit operations and the upper sub-band for base station transmit operations.

14. Time division duplexing (TDD) is a technology that permits transmission and reception of signals on the same frequency by alternating time slots for transmission and reception. Systems using TDD techniques may operate in both the lower and upper sub-bands. However, these systems must operate within the technical rules of FDD systems and must be engineered to coexist with FDD systems.

15. Regardless of the duplexing technique used, all systems shall comply with the technical requirements of this SRSP.

6. Technical criteria

16. This section covers technical criteria that must be met related to power, unwanted emission limits and antenna height, including criteria for the use of multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antennas.

6.1 Fixed and base stations using non-active antenna systems

17. This section describes how equivalent isotropically radiated power (e.i.r.p.) is calculated for fixed and base stations using non-active antenna systems (non-AAS).

6.1.1 E.i.r.p. for non-AAS correlated transmission

18. In non-AAS correlated transmission, multiple non-AAS antennas can be used at a station to transmit the same digital data in a given symbol period (even with different coding or phase shifts) for transmit diversity or to steer signal energy towards a particular direction for enhanced directional gain (i.e. beamforming), or to devise any other transmission mode where signals from different antennas are correlated. For these uses, the e.i.r.p. shall be calculated based on the aggregate power conducted across all antennas and on the resulting directional gain 10 log10(N) + Gmax dBi, where N is the number of antennas and Gmax is the highest gain in dBi among all antennas.

6.1.2 E.i.r.p. for non-AAS uncorrelated transmission

19. In non-AAS uncorrelated transmission, multiple non-AAS antennas can be used at a station to each transmit different digital data in a given symbol period (i.e. space-time codes) or independent parallel data streams over the same frequency bandwidth in order to increase data rates (i.e. spatial multiplexing), or to form any other transmission mode where signals from different antennas are completely uncorrelated. For these uses, the e.i.r.p. shall be calculated based on the aggregate power conducted across all antennas and the maximum antenna gain (Gmax).

6.1.3 E.i.r.p. limits and antenna height limits for non-AAS systems

20. For fixed and base stations operating in the band 2110-2180 MHz with a channel bandwidth equal to or less than 1 MHz, the maximum permissible e.i.r.p. is 62 dBm, with an antenna height above average terrain (HAAT) of up to 300 m.

21. For fixed and base stations operating in the band 2110-2180 MHz with a channel bandwidth greater than 1 MHz, the maximum permissible e.i.r.p. is 62 dBm/MHz (i.e. no more than 62 dBm e.i.r.p. in any 1 MHz band segment), with an antenna HAAT of up to 300 m.

22. Fixed and base stations operating in the band 2110-2180 MHz and located in geographic areas at a distance greater than 26 km from large or medium population centres may increase their e.i.r.p. to a maximum of 65 dBm/MHz (i.e. no more than 65 dBm e.i.r.p. in any 1 MHz band segment), with an antenna HAAT of up to 300 m. According to Statistics Canada’s Census Dictionary, a large urban population centre has a population of 100,000 or more and a population density of 400 persons or more per km2, and a medium population centre has a population of between 30,000 and 99,999 and a population density of 400 persons or more per km2. MapInfo files describing the boundaries of these centres are available online.

23. Within 26 km of any large or medium population centre, fixed and base stations may operate with an increased e.i.r.p. if more than 50% of the population within a particular sector’s coverage is located outside a large or medium population centre. The population within the sector’s coverage may be determined using the MapInfo spectrum grid-cell data available online at ISED’s Service areas for competitive licensing web page.

24. Fixed and base stations operating with an increased e.i.r.p., as specified above, must not be used to provide coverage to large and medium population centres. However, some incidental coverage of these population centres by stations operating with an increased e.i.r.p. is permitted.

25. The above provisions to allow increased e.i.r.p. limits also apply to fixed and base stations with a channel bandwidth equal to or less than 1 MHz. The e.i.r.p. may be increased up to a maximum of 65 dBm.

26. Fixed and base stations with an antenna HAAT exceeding 300 m shall apply a reduction in e.i.r.p. according to the following formula:

e.i.r.p.reduction = 20 log10(HAAT/300) dB

27. The HAAT of a fixed or base station with multiple antennas shall be calculated based on the measurements of the highest antenna.

6.2 Technical requirements and antenna height limits for active antenna systems

28. For fixed and base stations operating in the band 2110-2180 MHz using active antenna systems (AAS), the technical requirements in table 1 apply.

Table 1: Technical requirements for fixed and base stations using active antenna systems
Fixed and base station location (distance from a large or medium population centre)Channel bandwidthMaximum permissible e.i.r.p. (e.i.r.p.max)Required reduction in e.i.r.p.max with HAAT>300 m
More than 26 kmequal to or less than 1 MHz65 dBm20 log10(HAAT/300) dB
More than 26 km greater than 1 MHz65 dBm/MHz20 log10(HAAT/300) dB
Less than 26 kmequal to or less than 1 MHz62 dBm20 log10(HAAT/300) dB
Less than 26 kmgreater than 1 MHz62 dBm/MHz20 log10(HAAT/300) dB

29. The following equation shall be used to determine the e.i.r.p. for fixed and base stations operating in the band 2110-2180 MHz to ensure compliance with the maximum permissible e.i.r.p. specified in table 1 above:

e.i.r.p. = TRP + Ge + 10 log10(min(NTX,8))

where:

  • TRP is the total radiated power
  • Ge is the gain of one antenna element in dBi
  • NTX is the number of transmit antenna elements

30. The maximum permissible TRP limits are specified in RSS-139.

31. Within 26 km of any large or medium population centre, fixed and base stations may operate with an increased e.i.r.p., as specified above (see table 1), if more than 50% of the population within a particular sector’s coverage is located outside a large or medium population centre. The population within the sector’s coverage may be determined using the MapInfo spectrum gridcell data available online at ISED’s Service areas for competitive licensing web page.

32. Fixed and base stations operating with an increased e.i.r.p., as specified above (see table 1), must not be used to provide coverage to large and medium population centres. However, some incidental coverage of these large and medium population centres by stations operating with an increased e.i.r.p. is permitted.

6.3 Subscriber equipment

33. Maximum e.i.r.p. limits for subscriber equipment (e.g. mobile, portable and fixed subscriber equipment) are specified in RSS-139. This equipment should use automatic transmit power control such that stations operate on the minimum required power.

6.4 Power measurement settings

34. The specified power values in sections 6.1 and 6.2 shall be measured during any continuous transmission time using a measurement instrument calibrated in terms of root-mean-square equivalent voltage.

6.5 Fixed and base stations operating in the band 1710-1780 MHz

35. Fixed or base stations transmitting in the lower sub-band (1710-1780 MHz) shall comply with the power limits specified in section 6.3.

6.6 Transmitter unwanted emission limits

36. The unwanted emissions of equipment transmitting in the bands 1710-1780 MHz and 2110-2180 MHz shall comply with the limits specified in RSS-139.

7. General guidelines for the coexistence of systems operating in the same frequency blocks and in adjacent service areas

37. If an AWS system using the same frequency block is authorized to different operators in adjacent service areas, coordination of any transmitter installations that are close to the boundary shall be required in order to eliminate any harmful interference that might otherwise exist and ensure continuance of equal access to the frequency block by both operators.

38. To protect stations operating in adjacent service areas from co-channel interference, base stations must not generate a power flux density that exceeds 106 dBW/m2 in any 1 MHz outside the operator’s service area unless the affected operator agrees otherwise.

39. Possible interference conflicts resulting from the operation of two AWS systems may occur and should be resolved through mutual arrangements between the affected parties following consultation and coordination.

40. ISED shall be advised when potential conflicts between systems cannot be resolved in a timely fashion. After consulting with the parties concerned, ISED will determine the necessary course of action.

41. System expansion measures, such as the addition of cells, cell splitting and sectorization, must not force major changes in the system of the other operator, except by mutual agreement between the affected parties. Changes that could have an impact on the other operator, including cell site locations, cell sectorization and cell splitting, require consultation with the other operator.

8. General guidelines for the coexistence of systems operating in adjacent frequency blocks

42. Possible interference conflicts resulting from the operation of two AWS systems operating in adjacent blocks may occur even though the technical specifications of both this SRSP and RSS-139 have been met.

43. Interference conflicts should be resolved through mutual arrangements between the affected parties following consultation and coordination.

44. ISED shall be advised when potential conflicts between systems cannot be resolved in a timely fashion. After consulting with the parties concerned, ISED will determine the modifications to be made and the implementation schedule to be followed in order to resolve the conflict.

9. Fixed system operators in the bands 1710-1780 MHz and 2110-2180 MHz

45. The treatment of existing fixed point-to-point radio systems in the bands 1710-1755 MHz and 2110-2155 MHz is addressed in DGTP-007-07, Policy Framework for the Auction for Spectrum Licences for Advanced Wireless Services and other Spectrum in the 2 GHz Range.

46. The treatment of existing fixed point-to-point radio systems in the bands 1755-1780 MHz and 2155-2180 MHz is addressed in SLPB-007-14, Technical, Policy and Licensing Framework for Advanced Wireless Services in the Bands 1755-1780 MHz and 2155-2180 MHz (AWS-3).

47. In both bands, a fixed service licensee will be given a notification period before displacement if the licensee’s service is preventing the deployment of an AWS system.

10. Coexistence of systems operating in adjacent bands

48. Coordination through consultation may be required with licensees in adjacent bands to ensure coexistence between systems. Licensees should consult ISED’s Spectrum Management System Data search tools for an up to date list of operators in the area.

49. Possible interference conflicts resulting from the operation of AWS and radio systems in adjacent bands may occur and should be resolved through mutual arrangements between the affected parties following consultation and coordination.

50. ISED shall be advised when potential conflicts between systems cannot be resolved in a timely fashion. After consulting with the parties concerned, ISED will determine the necessary course of action.

51. Fixed line-of-sight point-to-point radio systems operate below 1710 MHz in accordance with Standard Radio System Plan SRSP 301.7, Technical Requirements for Fixed Radio Systems Operating in the Bands 1700-1710 MHz and 1780-1850 MHz. Coordination may be required between these systems and AWS mobile and portable stations operating in block A of the band 1710-1755 MHz.

52. The meteorological-satellite service (space-to-Earth) operates between 1685 MHz and 1710 MHz. AWS licensees in the band 1710-1755 MHz will be required to coordinate with existing licensed facilities of the meteorological-satellite service.

53. Fixed line-of-sight point-to-point radio systems operate between 1780 MHz and 1800 MHz in accordance with SRSP-301.7, Technical Requirements for Fixed Radio Systems Operating in the Bands 1700-1710 MHz and 1780-1850 MHz. Coordination may be required between these systems and AWS mobile and portable stations operating in block J2 of the band 1775-1780 MHz.

54. Fixed line-of-sight point-to-point radio systems operate below 2110 MHz in accordance with SRSP 302.0, Technical Requirements for Fixed Line-of-Sight Radio Systems Operating in the Bands 2025-2110 MHz and 2200-2285 MHz. Coordination may be required between these systems and AWS fixed or base stations operating in block A of the band 2110-2155 MHz.

11. International coordination

55. Usage of the bands 1710-1755 MHz and 2110-2155 MHz within the Canada-United States (US) border area is subject to the provisions of Arrangement I: Sharing arrangement between the Department of Industry of Canada and the Federal Communications Commission of the United States of America concerning the use of the frequency bands 1710-1755 MHz and 2110-2155 MHz by advanced wireless services along the Canada-United States border.

56. At the time of publication, ISED, the Federal Communications Commission and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration were negotiating an arrangement defining the coordination rules and procedures for the sharing of the bands 1755-1780 MHz and 2155-2180 MHz between Canadian and US licensees. ISED anticipates that the resulting arrangement will include transitional measures for the protection of US government incumbents, as well as rules and procedures for licensee-to-licensee coordination between AWS-3 licensees in both countries similar to those for AWS-1 band coordination (see Arrangement I).

57. Through their conditions of licence, AWS-3 licensees will be required to comply with certain technical requirements and to coordinate with US licensees in accordance with the conditions of any international arrangements or agreements into which Canada enters.