FCC's Adelstein 'impressed' with SDR and Cognitive Radio technologies

FCC commissioner Jonathan Adelstein helped to kick off the Global Regulatory Summit on SDR [software-defined radio] and Cognitive Radio last month in Washington, DC. Speaking June 20, Adelstein concluded that the "right kind"
of spectrum management policy can promote SDR and cognitive radio development by pushing boundaries to accommodate new technologies and services.

"As policy makers, we always need to consider the latest technologies in managing the spectrum," said Adelstein, one of the Commission's two Democratic appointees.
"And it is my hope that software-defined and cognitive radio technologies will open new avenues for innovation and
service to improve the quality of communications for people the world over." Adelstein says he's been "very impressed by the advancing capabilities of software defined and cognitive radio technologies."

FlexRadio Systems introduced the first software-defined Amateur Radio product at Dayton Hamvention 2004--the SDR-1000. In his review of the unit in last April's QST, Steve Ford, WB8IMY, said the SDR-1000 "opens a new chapter in the history of Amateur Radio." He pointed out that the unit is the first off-the-shelf HF/6 meter transceiver that uses software to define its functionality.

The ARRL honored FlexRadio founder Gerald Youngblood, AC5OG, with the 2002 Doug DeMaw, W1FB, Technical Excellence Award, for his groundbreaking SDR articles in QEX, which describe the development of the SDR-1000. Youngblood is a member of the ARRL SDR Working Group.

The FCC approved the first SDR-enabled base station--a cellular transmitter--last fall. An FCC Notice of Proposed Rule Making, ET Docket 03-108, is pending to further streamline SDR requirements.

The ARRL has told the FCC that Amateur Radio is "a fertile testing ground" for SDRs and that the technology would be especially valuable to facilitate disaster communications. Adelstein would appear to agree. One of the more promising benefits, he suggested, lies in SDR's potential to facilitate
communication among various groups of emergency responders.

"Here in the US, it is not unusual for police in one city to have difficulty communicating with the local fire department, the police in the next county, or with federal agencies covering similar jurisdictions," Adelstein pointed out. SDRs also can improve flexibility and dramatically cut operational
costs, he noted.

Cognitive radio technology, which Adelstein called "the so-called next generation of software defined radio," adds a new dimension to SDR technology--the ability to recognize the world around it and learn from experience. "Some wireless local area network devices already integrate
cognitive capabilities in order to sense spectrum use and adjust power output in order to maximize spectrum efficiency," he said.

"These technologies have the capability to literally leapfrog the technical and legal problems that currently hamper many of today's spectrum access opportunities," Adelstein said.

Source: ARRL Letter - courtesy of The American Radio Relay League

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