Spectrum Usage Measurement and Deconfliction

Abstract

DoD test ranges have expanding needs for air-to-ground telemetry bandwidth and are under pressure to manage the spectrum resource efficiently. In addition, DoD spectrum reserved for T&E is subject to encroachment by commercial entities. The T&E community needs tools to address both challenges at once: spectrum defense and spectral efficiency. The Spectrum Usage Measurement System (SUMS) measures and records the use of spectrum at test ranges on a daily basis. The system imports mission planning data from range systems as a base-line, then uses networked sensors and telemetry receivers to verify this usage over-the-air. The Spectrum Access Manager (SAM) is a set of features designed to expand the deconfliction capabilities of the currently-deployed IFDS system. Advanced features provided by the SAM library will dramatically increase frequency reuse, reduce fragmentation of the allocated spectrum, and support inter-range collaborative frequency deconfliction.