FINAL REPORT - Stakeholders - Ofcom

only power limited, and so the range can be of the order of 100-200 km. The size of a cell
is therefore not an issue for FDD.
A large part of the aeronautical standards that will be required for the 3D/CDMA system
can simply be carried over from the current 3G standards. However, the aeronautical
3D/CDMA standards will need to differ from the current 3G standards due to the different
part of the spectrum being used, with consequent impact on the RF equipment.
The aeronautical system has to accommodate a higher Doppler shift than the current 3G
standards. This has to be compensated for in the system and will impact on the standard.
ICAO has not yet been approached to produce ICAO SARPs. Also no EUROCAE/RTCA
MOPS activity is yet being considered.
An appropriate agenda item for WRC 2007 was adopted at WRC 2003, which inter alia
requires consideration of spectrum for the system. However the system is expected to be
able to co-exist with MLS in the MLS band with no problems. The system may also use
the RadioLAN band.
The characteristics of emerging broadband systems are summarised in Table 5-8 below.
Parameter Value Notes
Service topology Uplink point-to-point,
Downlink point-to-point
ATN compliance Yes The system can be ATN compliant and/or IP
compliant.
Frequency band 5 GHz (C-band) Could also operate in the 2 GHz and/or VHF
aeronautical band
RF Channels Single 5 MHz channel
EIRP 40-50dBW. Specific value for Boeing Connexion.
Modulation scheme QPSK
Bit rate 1.5 Mbps
Channel access method CDMA With Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) or Time
Division Duplex (TDD) for duplex transmission
Frequency availability
(allocation status)
Dependencies
Frequencies not yet
assigned
Text is currently being considered for an agenda
item in WRC 2003 or 2006 for consideration of a
spectrum allocation for the system. However the
system is expected to be able to co-exist with
MLS in the MLS band with no problems. The
system may also use the RadioLAN band.
Table 5- 8 Characteristics of Emerging Broadband Systems
5.9 Allocation Sharing Opportunities
5.9.1 Gatelink
The concept of high bandwidth communications with aircraft at or near the gate is not
new. Over the years a number of technologies have been considered including the use of
fibre-optic links, microwave links and more recently the currently emerging Wireless Local
Area Network (WLAN) solutions.
Page 171