Join us in Paris this May for Critical Communications World (incorporating TETRA World Congress).

In response to demand ATDI are presenting second in the series of webinars on planning microwave networks. This webinar will include capacity planning, frequency assignments and interference calculations.

More information to follow soon.

To register an interest contact sarah.sasson@atdi.co.uk

This event aims to demonstrate the features and functions of the spectrum assignment engine within ICS telecom and HTZ warfare.

The webinar will outline different options within the software to manage and understand the complex rules relating to where spectrum can and can’t be used.

To register your interest contact sarah.sasson@atdi.co.uk

The digital dividend spectrum has now gone under the under the hammer with winners expected to be announced in the second half of May.

Andrew Kerans, executive manager for spectrum planning at regulator the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) says of the 700MHz auction: “Basically it’s just to get the spectrum to market in the most economically efficient manner and, where possible, to enhance competition.”

The auction is expected to extend mobile coverage in regional areas and enhance capacity in crowded cities. “Australia’s combination of urban density and rural expanse factors strongly into our spectrum planning,” Kerans adds. “For example, when you’re trying to cover these vast areas, getting as much sub-1GHz spectrum out there for mobile services is critical. Otherwise it’s simply too expensive to cover very low-population areas with high-frequency bands.”

ATDI managing director Peter Paul notes: “Andrew identifies the perennial and global issue – if you spend an infinite amount of money, your network will be infinitely good. But, with infinite amounts of money not being available (partly because you couldn’t get a bank big enough to keep it all in), it’s all about planning and modelling to squeeze the maximum amount of benefit out of every pound or dollar you spend on infrastructure.

“And they’ve got particular problems in Australia given the sheer size of the place. It means that companies like ATDI come into their own to ensure the network reaches as far as possible for a sum that operators can still make a profit on.”

ACMA has conducted some research to try to bring the meaning of the auction to the Australian public. “We’ve worked out that the average person uses spectrum about 143 times a day,” Andrew comments, “from the automatic car-door opener to the radio and mobile phone—even to the speeding ticket you get because a policeman tracked you with a radar gun.”

This event is produced by Czech and Slovakian technical universities as a platform for researchers, academics and industry personnel to share latest developments in the area of radio electronics. This event consists of two conferences: 23th International Conference Radioelektronika 2013 and 13th Conference on Microwave Techniques COMITE 2013.

Martin French, MLL Telecom
Jeremy Andrews, General Dynamics
Richard Keller, Bellsouth

Thanks to all those to took part. Better luck next time.

ATDI has sold its spectrum management system to Brazilian regulator Anatel. The regulator bought the software in preparation for the unique demands on frequency resources it will face as the country gears up to host the planet’s two biggest sporting events, the Olympics and the World Cup.

“Every Olympics and every World Cup is different,” comments ATDI UK managing director Peter Paul. “You can be sure Anatel will have monitored what happened in London last summer very closely, but Brazil is a vastly bigger than the UK with venues far further apart and an entirely different topography, meaning there are a lot of new factors that need to be considered. In addition, the growth of smartphones and tablets means that these two events are likely to see the greatest ever concentration of people all clamouring to be online at the same time.”

“It is gratifying, though not entirely surprising, that Anatel has chosen the best tools available to manage its spectrum in the exceptional circumstances it is about to face.”

ATDI, along with its Brazilian partner, Isofreq, is supplying Anatel with the software it needs backed by training and consultancy services to ensure staff are using the systems to the peak of their potential.

The company’s new Investing In You campaign encompasses ATDI’s celebrated webinar series with the added enhancement of a £5 Costa voucher for customers who have not attended one before – and there’s also a voucher for anyone referring somebody who hasn’t attended one before.

An ATDI webinar is delivered to whatever computer screen people choose and is the easiest way to benefit from the know-how of ATDI’s expert engineers. Customers have regularly expressed their appreciation that the webinars help them understand industry issues and how to get the most out of ATDI tools such as ICS Telecom. Now all that comes with coffee and cake.

Please see the events page for the next available event.

Are you eligible for a voucher? Contact sarah.sasson@atdi.co.uk

Iceland’s spectrum regulator, PFS, has bought ATDI’s flagship planning and modelling tool ICS telecom to help it manage and exploit the country’s spectrum resources.

Iceland, with a population of just 322,000, is slowly recovering from 2008’s banking and financial crisis. Now bolstered by increasingly positive economic news and a higher status from ratings agencies such as Fitch, the island nation is growing in confidence once more.

“PFS’s purchase of ICS telecom is definitely with one eye on the future,” notes ATDI access networks lead engineer Paul Grant. “ICS telecom is the perfect tool for both seeing what you have and what you can do with it so, clearly, the management at PFS is looking at what new services are feasible as economic confidence grows – while also bearing in mind  Iceland’s unique geography.”

The country’s population is concentrated in the capital city, Reykjavík, which is home to 120,000 people. The other 202,000 are scattered at a density of three per square kilometre; the equivalent figure for England is 407.

“Europe’s most active volcano, spewing clouds of dust and potentially affecting telecommunication and broadcast networks, is only one of PFS’s many challenges. The UK is only too aware of the effects of recent eruptions but a lesser known fact is the effect of volcanic ash on signal attenuation and reduced signal strength. Modelling real-life scenarios with ICS telecom enables the regulator to understand the impact of such an occurrence and provide mitigation solutions.”

“Saying that, statistics gathered from recent eruptions show that the largest disruption comes from overloading due to high user demand,” Paul comments. “Being able to manage increased network traffic during emergencies is an integral feature ICS telecom and one used by many blue-light service networks globally.”

The World Wide Fund for Nature warned in stark terms in its Living Planet 2012 report that fossil fuel consumption is creating unsustainable levels of carbon as well as using up reserves at an alarming rate.

“We’re pleased that our work with wind farms is making a contribution to countering these problems,” comments ATDI managing director Peter Paul. “Wind farms are the ultimate in green energy but, of course, they are often opposed because they come with a slew of potential problems for radar operators and other telecommunication services. ATDI is proud of its extensive experience in mitigating and eliminating those problems and thereby creating the conditions in which turbines can be built and operated.”

The potential problems caused by wind farms centres on the turbine tips. The speed at which they rotate can cause radars to give a false position for aircraft.
Image: Radar beam from Doppler radar intercepted by wind turbine rotor

“ATDI has worked with wind farm developers across Europe as well as air traffic controllers and military radar operators to ensure that these issues are identified at the outset and alleviated before operations begin,” Peter comments. “We start our work at the planning stage of any new wind farm and analyse the possible interference effects of all individual turbines then suggest mitigation solutions where they are needed. That benefits everybody because it’s a lot easier to move a turbine across a plan than across a field.”

Peter notes that the assurances ATDI has been able to give that the turbines will have no significant impact on radio systems has reduced opposition to new wind farms.

“Our first work in this area was nearly 10 years ago,” he says, “and in the intervening decade we have amassed a huge amount of experience. Wind farms are an emotionally-charged issue – on both sides of the argument – and we have learned to add diplomacy and sensitivity to local politics to our technical expertise. In addition, ATDI has joined forces with key industry specialists to provide expert advice in areas of radars, propagation modelling and aviation.

“It’s a fascinating sector to work in and, in getting it right; everybody wins – locally, nationally and globally.”