On Thursday 16 February (10.30-12.30) the UK Spectrum Policy Forum is delighted to be hosting Ofcom at techUK's London office for an interactive and participative workshop on spectrum sandboxes. 

This will be an in-person event, with a limited number of spaces being available on a first-come-first-served basis, so be sure to book your place now. Please note that tickets are restricted to one per member organisation.  

Purpose of the workshop 

Ofcom set out its plan to support the development of Spectrum Sandboxes in its recent Spectrum Roadmap. Sandboxes will utilise field trials and the collection of real world data to explore technical solutions to improve the way spectrum is used and shared by different users. The increasing use of network function virtualization, software defined radios and ability to collect and process massive data sets have made Sandboxes a viable way to help develop new solutions for sharing.

In light of the growing interest and demand in accessing spectrum in the 3.8-4.2GHz band, where Ofcom has introduced a shared access approach between incumbent and new users, Ofcom is keen to develop the first sandbox in this band. Any learning from this sandbox will feed into Ofcom's review of  their current authorisation approach in the band.

Objectives 

To be successful, Sandboxes will require cross industry collaboration and innovation and this Ofcom's inaugural workshop, supported by UK SPF, will be the first step toward agreeing objectives and approach.

The objective of the first workshop is to gather views on:

  • Current and anticipated use cases for the spectrum. Are there use cases that are not supported by the current authorisation approach?
  • How to best collect data on nature of propagation and interference in the band that is representative of real work deployments and equipment? Analysis of this data will inform future testing within the sandbox.
  • Terms of Reference and ways of working for stakeholders that want to continue to participate in the Sandbox.

This will be a participative workshop and we encourage attendees that have practical commercial and technical experience of deploying radio systems using Ofcom’s Shared Access Licences or that are developing technologies that might increase the utilisation of this spectrum.  

Please note this is an in-person event. If you're unable to attend, please get in touch and virtual participation might be facilitated. If you have any accessibility requirements, please contact us. 

By signing up to the workshop you agree for your details to be shared with Ofcom ahead of the workshop. 

As space is limited for this session, tickets are restricted to one per member organisation.

If you have any questions, please contact the team below. 

Sophie Greaves

Sophie Greaves

Head of Telecoms and Spectrum Policy, techUK

Tales Gaspar

Tales Gaspar

Programme Manager, UK SPF and Satellite, techUK

 

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