2023 article
Spectrum Activity Monitoring and Analysis for Sub-6 GHz Bands Using a Helikite
2023 15TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS & NETWORKS, COMSNETS.
author keywords: AERPAW; helikite; LTE; air-to-ground; software-defined radio; spectrum monitoring
UN Sustainable Development Goal Categories
11. Sustainable Cities and Communities
(OpenAlex)
Source: Web Of Science
Added: May 30, 2023
In this paper, we report sub-6 GHz spectrum measurement results at multiple ground fixed nodes and a helikite flying at altitudes up to 500 feet. Measurements are carried out at the NSF AERPAW platform in Raleigh, NC. We first describe our measurement methodology using software defined radios (SDRs) and explain the details of the measurement environment. Subsequently, we analyze the impact of terrain, measurement altitude, measurement frequency, and the time of the day on spectrum measurements for various different sub-6 GHz bands. In particular, we present spectrum occupancy results from various different LTE bands first in a rural environment, and then in an urban campus environment. Results show that for both environments, measured power at a given spectrum band increases with altitude up to 500 feet. On the other hand, in the urban environment, an abrupt increase in the aggregate received power is observed in all considered bands as the helikite rises above the buildings, when compared with the more gradual increase of the received power in same bands for the rural environment.