Impacts to Remote Sensing and Direct Broadcast from Radio Spectrum Sharing

Unencumbered access to satellite direct broadcast signals is needed for data availability and receipt of timely data. Remote sensing depends upon the ability to obtain frequency-dependent measurements from the atmosphere. Both may be impacted by planned or proposed sharing of radio frequency spectrum with commercial broadband wireless services. Such commercial frequency use in the same spectrum may not be compatible with sensitive ground station receivers and the cumulative effect of higher frequency usage by thousands or millions of users may impact remote sensing systems in orbit. This presentation discusses specific frequency bands, which also support meteorological or hydrological applications, and preliminary results of testing with ground equipment to determine the susceptibility to operation in proximity to strong terrestrial transmitters. Additionally, domestic and international regulators are studying higher frequency bands for new commercial services – some of which overlap with critical passive sensing frequencies. Hydrological and meteorological end users may not know that radio spectrum issues have the potential to impact the products that they depend upon. This presentation introduces the breadth of the issue as it may impact the meteorological community.