The Cape Town TV White Spaces Trial

The Cape Town TV White Spaces (TVWS) trial concluded September 25, 2013.  The following are draft technical reports, recommendations and other policy related resources from other trials.  The Cape Town trial documents are preliminary, pending consultations and comments.  Final reports to follow in the next few months.

 

 

 

 

 

With the support of ICASA, the communications regulator of South Africa, a group of partners implemented a TVWS trial network covering ten schools in the Western Cape over a six month period during 2013. The trial partners include TENET, CSIR Meraka, e-Schools Network, WAPA and Google, with Comsol Wireless Solutions, Carlson Wireless Technologies and Neul as the vendor partners. The goals of the trial was to: 

 

The partners periodically updated ICASA, Sentech, the Joint Spectrum Advisory Group, broadcasters and other constituents on trial outcomes, including spectrum measurements and reported interference. The results of the trial are to be officially released at a Report Back event on November 8th, 2013 at the CSIR Building in Pretoria. 

 

 

The TVWS network consistc of multiple base stations located at Stellenbosch University’s Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences in Tygerburg, Cape Town, which deliver broadband Internet service to ten schools within a 10 kilometer radius. The ten schools have been pre-selected based on proximity to the base station, local IT and network support, and other connectivity requirements. Each school receives dedicated 2.5 Mbps service with failover to ADSL in order to prevent downtime during school hours. 

 

 

 

 

 

*Although the Trial has ended, on August 28, 2013, ICASA accepted a set of recommendations by Meraka, specifically to allow the Trial network to remain operational, providing broadband to schools. 

 

The purpose of the trial is to establish whether interference is caused, and we have reporting mechanisms built into the trial. If someone’s TV signal is interfered with, they should report it to their TV service provider, as they normally would.  All reported instances will be checked and accounted for based on the TVWS Interference Management Protocol.

 

South Africa has expressed early interest in TVWS technology. In October 2011, government officials, regulators, and industry leaders gathered at an event hosted by APC, WAPA and Google Africa to discuss the benefits of this emerging technology. ICASA recognized the opportunity to use TVWS to provide Internet services and, with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), is exploring how TVWS could be applied. ICASA will use data from the trial to inform the rulemaking process.

 

TV White spaces are the unused channels in the broadcast TV spectrum. New radio and database technologies allow that spectrum to be used to transmit wireless Internet over distances up to ten kilometers. As a result, white spaces can be used to deploy broadband access and other mobile data technologies.

 

The partners came together at a one-day conference in October 2011 to discuss the future of TVWS technology in South Africa. The event was hosted by APC, WAPA, and Google Africa. ICASA, the South African communications regulator, granted CSIR Meraka and its partners permission to conduct the trial in Cape Town. 

 

CSIR Meraka has permission to operate the network through a group of partners and will perform spectrum field measurements to demonstrate non-interference.

TENET is managing the network and providing IP transit.

e-Schools Network is providing support services to the partner schools.

WAPA has sourced local vendors to deploy the network.

Comsol Wireless Solutions installed and are maintaining the network radio equipment.

Google is sponsoring the trial and using its Spectrum Database to assign channels to the network with data provided by ICASA.

 

The trial is using radios and software by Carlson Wireless and Neul. Speeds vary from 1-10mbps depending on network load and location.  Browse through the TVWS traffic graphs here (Note: Once landing on the graphs page, scroll down to see the TVWS graphs).

 

The trial will provide wireless broadband over TVWS backhaul to 10 schools in the Western Cape. Spectrum measurements will be taken around the area to provide evidence of non-interference with TV broadcast. 

 

We are grateful for the willing participation by the following ten schools: Bellville High School, Cravenby Combined Schools, DF Malan High School, Elswood Secondary School, Fairmont High School, Norwood Primary School, Parow High School, President High School, Range Secondary School and Settlers High School.  

 

How were schools chosen?
 

The schools have been vetted and selected by e-Schools Network, a local NGO that provides IP services to 1,700 schools in South Africa. The selected schools met certain networking criteria including base station proximity, IT support, and networking capabilities. 

 

The network is live. During this time we will be taking frequent reliability tests and interference measurements.

 

 

Currently there is no regulation around TVWS globally.  It’s a technology which is still being explored.  Regulators like Ofcom in the UK are working to create new regulatory models.  We hope that ICASA will use the trial results to start thinking about a model for South Africa.

 

With the support of ICASA, the partners hope to show the potential for TVWS to improve access in underserved areas and be a viable last mile solution. For now, this is a small trial with a limited scope.

 

 

Past trials in the U.S. and United Kingdom have shown that the unlicensed use of TVWS has multiple use cases: rural access, emergency services, and smart grid technology.

 

The technology is currently available, but in many countries regulators must develop the appropriate policy framework to support TVWS technology. This trial will be used to inform the regulatory process in South Africa.

 

The trial is designed to explore whether TVWS are a viable solution for  providing broadband to more people in SA.  Once that’s established, it’s up to ICASA to guide regulation.

 

In principle, when we switch over to digital broadcasting, there will be more unused spectrum, and TVWS technology will likely be even more relevant and useful. 

 

No it’s not.  The technology only uses free unused spectrum, whether analog or digital.

 

The Trial ran for 6 months, ending September 25, 2013.  The Network remains operational.