Access to RF White Spaces in Romania: Present and Future

• Published in: Wireless personal communications Vol. 87; no. 3; pp. 693 - 712
• Main Authors: Martian, Alexandru, Craciunescu, Razvan, Vulpe, Alexandru, Suciu, George, Fratu, Octavian
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.04.2016
• Subjects: Communications Engineering; Computer Communication Networks; Engineering; Networks; Signal,Image and Speech Processing; Measurement campaign; Spectrum sensing; Dynamic spectrum access; RF white spaces
• ISSN: 0929-6212; 1572-834X
• DOI: 10.1007/s11277-015-2638-1

As the demand for frequency resources increases because of the great number of new wireless technologies, the frequency spectrum becomes overcrowded and solutions have to be found in order to solve this problem. One possible solution would be to take advantage of the so called white spaces (WS), frequency bands that are actually not used by the primary (licensed) radio communication systems, by using a dynamic spectrum access (DSA) approach. In order to take advantage of these spaces, secondary (unlicensed) users have to perform a spectrum sensing process in order to accurately detect the presence of a primary system and avoid unwanted interference with it. This paper provides an overview of the status of WS in Romania by analysing the current regulations and the analogue switch-off that is planned to take place in the near future (2015). The current state of the art regarding several standards that incorporate DSA elements is being made, emphasizing the high interest in using this WS in upcoming communication systems. In order to prove the low degree in which the RF spectrum is currently used, the results of a measurement campaign performed in both urban and rural locations of Romania are discussed. A comparison with the results of other similar measurement campaigns conducted in several locations worldwide is performed as well. Several frequency bands are identified as possible WS for future opportunistic use.