Qinetiq to police the airwaves
Ofcom has awarded a £500,000 contract to Qinetiq to develop a system
for pinpointing illegal radio transmissions.
Qinetiq will be charged with combating wilful abuse of the spectrum from
pirate radio stations, but will also be looking to identify accidental
use by poorly configured wireless Lans and outdated CB and radio equipment.
"We will submit a technology demonstrator plus the recommendations
from our comprehensive requirement study towards the end of 2005,"
said Rhod Scott Wilson of Qinetiq's spectrum solutions division.
"At that point Ofcom will approve the overall requirement and equipment
specification. The approved design will then be commercialised and rolled
out across the UK to provide the national network."
The initial design of the system is still being decided, but is likely
to use a network of stations across the country that can monitor the spectrum
continuously.
Qinetiq suggested using the existing mobile cellular network to allow
monitoring stations to communicate across the country to triangulate the
source of the transmissions.
In 2003/4 Ofcom prosecuted 55 people for radio interference, levying
£22,200 in fines and 46 forfeiture orders.
Iain Thomson, vnunet.com
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