Comtech Troposcatter Spectrum Guidelines White Paper

January 2014

White Paper
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FIXED OVER-THE-
HORIZON (OTH) RADIO-RELAY SYSTEMS
OPERATING IN THE FREQUENCY BAND 4400 MHz TO
5000 MHz

Proprietary/Confidential Notice
The information disclosed in this document, including all designs and related materials, is the
valuable property of Comtech Systems, Inc. (hereinafter “Comtech”) and/or its licensors. Comtech
and/or its licensors, as appropriate, reserve all patent, copyright, and other proprietary rights to this
document, including all design, manufacturing, reproduction, use, and sales rights thereto, except
to the extent said rights are expressly granted to others. Reproduction of this document or portions
thereof without prior written approval of Comtech is prohibited.

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1 INTENT

This document provides recommendations for the utilization of the frequency band 4400 MHz to
5000 MHz for Fixed Service over-the-horizon (OTH) radio-relay systems. In particular, this band
seems very suitable for long distance communications operating between inland and offshore. It
should be noted that OTH Troposcatter radio systems are technically equal to any point-to-point
application and should be considered part of Fixed Service for beyond line-of sight trans-horizon
radio systems.

Tropospheric scatter is the propagation of radio waves by scattering as a result of irregularities or

discontinuities in the physical properties of the troposphere. In a Troposcatter system, the beam is
bounced off the upper troposphere, providing a true beyond the line of sight (BLOS) point-to-point
communications capability. These systems rely on the irregularity of the refractivity gradient at such
altitudes, resulting in impinging microwave power being scattered forward in an irregular fashion.
The fundamental of a Troposcatter system is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Troposcatter System

In general, these recommendations are designed to provide information on the minimum

requirements for the use of frequency band allocation. They provide information on technical
characteristics of radio systems, frequency channelization, coordination initiatives in order to
maximise the utilisation, minimise interference and optimise the usage of the band. The
recommendations are intended to help regulators with the usage of spectrum, but do not attempt to
establish any detailed equipment standards.

The tropo equipment are designed and tested to commercial standards. A case study presented at
the end of this document will show that the likelihood of interference from a tropo system is
extremely low. However, site analysis is recommended to verify the system does not cause
interference to other radios stations or systems or other co-primary services.

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Interference mitigation techniques are already employed by Tropo systems including antenna
discrimination, tilt optimization, polarization, frequency discrimination, site selection, and power
control. Implementation of these mitigation techniques reduces the likelihood of interference.

2 FREQUENCY CHANNELIZATION PLAN

Fixed Service OTH radio systems operate in a similar manner to point-to-point Digital Fixed
Radio Systems operating in Frequency bands from 3 GHz to 11 GHz with 40 MHz channel
separation.

Fixed Service OTH radio systems operating in these bands use a duplex frequency plan. The 4400
MHz to 5000 MHz is divided into sub-bands for duplex use. The frequency channelization plan is
based on 40 MHz sub-bands as shown below:

4400 MHz to 5000 MHz

15 x 40 MHz slots
4400 4500 MHz

Each Fixed Service OTH system (tropo link) requires four frequency channels for diversity
operation. A 40 MHz minimum separation should be allocated between two transmit channels. An
80 MHz minimum separation should be allocated between any transmit and receive channels. The
following chart shows examples of valid frequency allocations:

TX1 TX2 RX1 RX2

TX1 TX2 RX1 RX2

RX1 TX1 RX2 TX2

3 SYSTEM PARAMETERS

Fixed Service OTH radio systems operate in a similar manor to point-to-point Digital Fixed
Radio Systems. With some site planning, these systems can operate in this band without causing
any interference to other adjacent services. The mitigation of interference and the adoption of a
number of engineering solutions will facilitate approval of these systems for use in any location.

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Maximum radiated power:

The recommended Effective Isotropic Radiated Power (EIRP) for the Fixed Service OTH radio
systems is +75 dBW peak and +60 dBW average. Automatic Transmit Power Control (ATPC) is
implemented to regulate the transmitter power to the optimum level needed by the receivers at
the distant-end.

Radio Frequency Spectrum Mask

The recommended spectrum mask for intra-system and inter-system transmit emission is shown
in Figure 2.

10

0
Relative Amplitude in dB

-10

-20

-30

-40

-50

-60
0 20 40 60 80 100
Frequency (MHz)

Figure 2. Spectral Mask

The 0 dB level shown on the spectrum masks relates to the power spectral density at the carrier
center frequency.

Spurious Emissions

In order to limit interference into other systems operating externally to this system, the
recommended transmitter spurious emissions should not exceed -60 dBc.

Radio Frequency Tolerance

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Maximum radio frequency tolerance for the Fixed Service OTH radio system shall not exceed
+/-1 ppm for operation in environmental profile. This limit includes both short-term factors
(environmental effects) and long-term factors (aging effects).

BER as a Function Of Receiver Signal Level (RSL)

The recommended RSL level for BER of 10-6 is -75 dBm.

Co-channel and Adjacent Channel Interferer

The recommended limits of Carrier to Interference ratio (C/I) in case of co-channel and adjacent
channel interference, for 1 dB degradation of the RSL limits specified for BER of 10-6, is 33 dB
and -4 dB, respectively.

The co-channel "external" interference is considered to be that given by a like signal completely
uncorrelated with the system.

For adjacent channel interference, the requirement shall be met independently of upper or lower
adjacent interference.

CW Spurious Interferer

For a receiver operating at a RSL corresponding to the nominal 10-6 BER threshold, the
introduction of a CW interferer at a level of +30 dB, with respect to the "wanted" signal, and at
any frequency outside twice the channel spacing, shall not result in a BER greater than 10-5. This
requirement is considered equivalent to a degradation of 1 dB of the 10-6 BER threshold.

Antenna Directivity & Radiation Pattern Envelope

The recommended radiation envelope for a Fixed Service OTH radio antenna is shown in the
Figure 3. Although the Figure only shows the main-beam region and close-in sildelobes (+/- 15
beamwidths), the far sidelobes level shall not exceed -50 dB. At approximately 1.5 BW the
sidelobe levels shall not exceed -30 dB.

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Typical Antenna Radiation Pattern

0

-10
Relative Amplitude in dB
-20

-30

-40

-50

-60
-15 -12 -9 -6 -3 0 3 6 9 12 15
Beamwidths

Figure 3. Fixed Service OTH Antenna Envelope

4 CASE STUDY

For example let’s assume a tropo system with a 7 meter antenna (approximately 50 dB of gain),
500 watt Amplifier and 2 dB transmit losses, resulting in 75 dBW maximum EIRP. The 3 dB
beamwidth for this antenna is approximately 0.6 deg. Using the antenna radiation envelope
shown above, we can see that the signal is down by 47 dB at less than 5 degree away from the
center of the beam. Therefore, outside +/- 5 degrees from the center of the beam, the signal level
from the tropo system is approximately equal to 27dBw (75-47). This level is equivalent to a
typical microwave point-to-point radio with a 1 watt transmitter and a 2ft antenna (27 dB gain),
which is quite common. Figure 4 below shows the transmit power density for this example.
The figure shows that only a small sector (2.7% of the total area) in the direction of the antenna
beam needs to be managed carefully. The rest of the area interference level is equivalent to that
generated by a low power p-t-p microwave radio.

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High EIRP Zone

P-T-P Radio
equivalent
EIRP Area

Over the
Horizon Radio
Location

Figure 4. Fixed Service OTH Radio Power Density

Now let’s look at the receive side of the over the horizon link. Obviously, even a narrow beam
(0.6°) will paint nearly a 1 km wide area in the troposphere at the midway point (100Km),
assuming a 200 Km link. To receive the scattering signal from the troposphere, the receive
antenna (assuming same size and gain as the transmit antenna) will need to be nearly perfectly
aligned with the transmit antenna. The likelihood of a microwave antenna randomly aligning
perfectly with the 0.6° transmit tropo antenna beam is less than 0.16% of the time. In addition,
through a closed loop control of the distant-end transmitter, the over the horizon system receiver
attempts to keep the carrier to interference at -65 dBm. Even if a microwave antenna were to
randomly align perfectly with the with the transmit tropo beam, the gain of the microwave
antenna (assuming 0.6 m size) will have 24 dB lower gain than the tropo receive antenna.
Therefore, the p-t-p microwave receiver will intercept the tropo interfering signal at -89 dBm.
This level is well below the limits of Carrier to Interference ratio (C/I) requirements for
microwave radios in case of co-channel and adjacent channel interference, for 1 dB degradation
of the RSL limits specified for BER of 10-6.

This Case study shows that a Fixed Service OTH radio system can be operated at any area with
proper frequency management. Although the OTH radio systems have high EIRP, their
extremely narrow antenna beamwidth makes the likelihood or interference with other microwave
radios extremely small.

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