Peter Faris Spectrum expert European Communications Office peter

Peter Faris Spectrum expert European Communications Office peter. faris@eco. cept. org 8 th September 2016 SEAMCAT 5 New functionalities for sharing and compatibility studies

Presentation outline • Introduction to SEAMCAT – What is SEAMCAT and why is it necessary? – The Monte Carlo method – Software overview • SEAMCAT development – Context, history and objectives • New features in SEAMCAT 5 – Improvements to flexibility, reliability, computation speed, userfriendliness • Summary – Where can I download SEAMCAT and access documentation?

Part 1 - Introduction to SEAMCAT

Why SEAMCAT? (1/2) Congestion in the radio spectrum resource • Higher penetration of wireless communications leads to increased congestion in the radio frequency spectrum resource. • Radiocommunication systems need to share the resource efficiently. • Sharing and compatibility studies are required to assess the possibilities for radio systems to coexist in the same or in adjacent frequency bands.

Why SEAMCAT? (2/2) Need for tools that lead to effective radio spectrum use • Classic analytical methods, like the Minimum Coupling Loss method, tend to be pessimistic overestimating the interference conditions between wireless systems. • Realistic modelling of complex compatibility scenarios is needed • Monte Carlo simulations lead to more efficient use of the radio spectrum as they are able to simulate close-to-reality co -existence scenarios.

What is SEAMCAT? (1/2) Spectrum Engineering Advanced Monte Carlo Analysis Tool • Open Source software tool • Free of cost • Based on the Monte Carlo simulation method for statistical modelling of interference scenarios between radio communication systems

What is SEAMCAT? (2/2) • SEAMCAT is intended for: – Co-existence studies between radio communication systems operating in the same or adjacent frequency bands – Simulation of systems operating mainly under terrestrial services (some scenarios involving satellite systems are also possible) – Quantification of the probability of interference (probability that one system is interfered by one or more other systems) • It is not designed for system planning purposes

Brief introduction to the Monte Carlo method (1/2) • The Monte Carlo method is based on a set of computational algorithms that use randomness to solve problems that might be difficult to solve using a deterministic approach • It allows solving of problems that have a probabilistic interpretation and are very useful for simulating systems which involve many variable parameters

Brief introduction to the Monte Carlo method (2/2) • In the Monte Carlo method, parameters that vary can be defined as random variables with a given distribution. • The basic principle is the random sampling of these distributions at each simulation run (i. e. simulation event) in order to perform a given calculation. • Results of calculations obtained at each event can then be averaged across the total number of events. • The number of events required to produce a statistically representative result depends on the number of random variables included in a given scenario.

Compatibility scenario overview (1/3) At each event, two systems are simulated: • Victim System • Interfering System The victim system receiver receives two types of signals: • wanted signal from its corresponding transmitter. • interfering signal(s) originated at the interfering transmitter(s)

Compatibility scenario overview (2/3) • Two interference mechanisms are considered: – Unwanted emissions – a function of the leakage from the interfering transmitter – Blocking/selectivity – a function of the filtering of the victim receiver

Compatibility scenario overview (3/3) • Interference at the victim receiver is assessed according to a specified criteria: – For generic victim systems: C/(I+N), I/N, or (I+N)/N – binary result (interfered/not interfered) for each event – For cellular (CDMA or OFDMA) victim systems: relative capacity loss based on SINR to throughput mapping • The overall probability of interference can then be determined by averaging the results across all events

Software overview (1/3) Workspaces - Systems

Software overview (2/3) Workspaces - Scenario

Software overview (3/3) Simulation results

Part 2 - SEAMCAT development

SEAMCAT development (1/3) Context • SEAMCAT is developed within the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT). • The CEPT brings together the postal and telecommunications regulatory authorities of 48 European countries. • The European Communications Office (ECO), based in Copenhagen, Denmark, is the permanent office supporting the CEPT. • SEAMCAT development is managed by the ECO in close cooperation with CEPT administrations, industry and academia.

SEAMCAT development (2/3) History • First specified in the late 1990’s and gradually developed ever since • Recent versions: • 4. 1. 0 (October 2013) • 5. 0. 0 (January 2016) • 5. 0. 1 (April 2016) • Version 5. 1. 0 is expected to be released in Autumn 2016

SEAMCAT development (3/3) Objectives To produce a platform for assessing the compatibility among various wireless communication systems in a realistic manner that is: • Flexible • Reliable • Fast • User-friendly • Recognised

Part 3 - SEAMCAT 5 new features

Flexibility (1/2) SEAMCAT libraries • System parameters library • Plugin library: – Antenna plugins (AP) with predefined patterns, and now possible to add user-defined equation based patterns – Propagation model plugins (PMP) with built-in and user-defined models – Event Processing Plugins (EPP): new functionality to allow user to perform scenario specific calculations, or extract intermediate results

Flexibility (2/2) Event Processing Plugins • • Event Processing Plugins (EPPs) allow users to extend SEAMCAT core functionalities by implementing their own algorithms, using a common interface. Example: intermodulation calculation

Reliability (1/3) Save and share workspaces and results • SEAMCAT allows saving of workspaces and simulation results (now in a separate file). • Stakeholders can share and verify workspaces and results.

Reliability (2/3) Access to a complete list of calculations After running a simulation, a detailed list of settings and calculations is available.

Reliability (3/3) Extract intermediate results: Play/Replay • In doubt of a specific event? Use the Play/replay feature – List of results per event – Log trace of the calculation for that event

User-friendliness (1/2) Graphical User Interface • New GUI separate systems from the scenarios – Step 1: Workspaces • Load an existing workspace, or • Create your own workspace and load your system components from the libraries – Step 2: Modify system components and parameters as appropriate. – Step 3: Set your scenario (positioning of elements and propagation models) – Step 4: Add EPPs if so required – Step 5: Simulate – Step 6: Check results (final and intermediate) – Step 7: Save and share workspaces and results

User-friendliness (2/2) Consistency checks help users to verify parameters entered in a workspace and correct any error before running a simulation.

Recognition Used across the world in administrations, industry and academia Source: google analytics on visits to the www. seamcat. org page in 2015.

Part 4 - Summary

SEAMCAT 5 in brief • Realistic tool for modelling complex compatibility scenarios between wireless systems, thanks to the power of the Monte Carlo method. • Flexible, thanks to libraries for system parameters and plugins. • Reliable, thanks to the possibility of saving and sharing workspaces and full simulation results, accessing a complete list of calculations and extracting intermediate results. • Faster, thanks to parallel processing. • User-friendly, thanks to recent GUI improvements, the addition of consistency checks for workspace parameters, and updates to the available documentation • Recognised by administrations, industry and academia across the world

Where can I download SEAMCAT? SEAMCAT can be downloaded free of charge at: www. seamcat. org

Where can I find documentation? SEAMCAT Handbook - over 400 pages of documentation • The latest official version of the SEAMCAT handbook was approved end of April 2016. • It can be downloaded here: http: //www. cept. org/ecc/grou ps/ecc/wgse/stg/client/introduction/

Thank you! Any questions? Peter Faris peter. faris@eco. cept. org