EUROPEAN COMMISSION Communications Networks Content & Technology Directorate-General Electronic Communications Networks & Services Spectrum Brussels, 23 November 2012 DG CONNECT/B4 RSCOM12-46 PUBLIC DOCUMENT RADIO SPECTRUM COMMITTEE Working Document Subject: Interferences with GSM-R (contribution from ERA) This is a Committee working document which does not necessarily reflect the official position of the Commission. No inferences should be drawn from this document as to the precise form or content of future measures to be submitted by the Commission. The Commission accepts no responsibility or liability whatsoever with regard to any information or data referred to in this document European Commission, DG Communications Networks Content & Technology, 200 Rue de la Loi, B-1049 Bruxelles RSC Secretariat, Avenue de Beaulieu 33, B-1160 Brussels - Belgium - Office BU33 7/09 Telephone: direct line (+32-2)299.66.11 / 295.26.65 switchboard (+32-2)299.11.11. Fax: (+32-2) 296.83.95 E-mail : cnect-rsc@ec.europa.eu
Input document for Radio Spectrum Committee (RSC#42) Interferences with GSM-R time for action Prepared by the European Railway Agency, ERTMS Unit, reviewed by DG MOVE. Valenciennes, 21 st of November 2012 The concern on interferences to GSM-R is increasing in the railway world. The urgency is very high for some of the Infrastructure Managers and Railway Undertakings, especially in regions where UMTS 900 is in service or planning a massive deployment in areas close to the rail tracks. On the one hand, the deployment of European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS)(including GSM-R) is a priority for transport policy and is mandatory in Europe according to the Railway Interoperability Directive 2008/57/EC and to the ERTMS European Deployment Plan 1. It implies the replacement of legacy train communication systems with GSM-R. Interferences from both UMTS 900, GSM and the future LTE networks are therefore a crucial matter. Indeed, the deployment of the European Rail Traffic Management System "Level 2" requires that the GSM-R coverage allows maintaining an uninterrupted data call between the train and the control center from the start to the end of the trip. The lack of coverage in an area has a double impact: the train controlled by ERTMS Level 2 will react breaking until a new call can be established (with the corresponding losses in terms of efficiency, punctuality and possibly payments to passengers impacted) and there would be no possibility of being alerted in case of emergency via the Railway Emergency Call (which is the main safety related application of the voice GSM-R system). On the other hand, the deployment of wide band technologies to allow citizens and passengers in the trains a seamless communication is also a priority. Therefore, it is clear that the coexistence of both communication means has to be ensured by all the involved actors. In this regard, the RSC and the Commission are invited to take note of the issue of interferences with GSM-R and to respond to the urgent need to define harmonised maximum levels of wanted/unwanted (cumulative) emissions (i.e. by giving a mandate to ECC to review the ECC report 162 and issue a new report). Summary of activities in the past months Many activities have been developed in this direction in the past months: Studies for the characterisation of interferences done by some railway infrastructure managers (i.e. UK, Belgium) Decisions taken by some Member States to agree on an immediate way forward to their situation (i.e. Sweden) Measurement campaigns in the railway environment (i.e. ISPRA campaign in Italy) UIC working group on Frequency Management (with meetings in Paris, London, Copenhagen and Munich) and documents, such as the Final Report of the ad-hoc group for Frequency Interferences (O-8700) 1 http://ec.europa.eu/transport/modes/rail/interoperability/ertms/ European Commission, DG Communications Networks Content & Technology, 200 Rue de la Loi, B-1049 Bruxelles RSC Secretariat, Avenue de Beaulieu 33, B-1160 Brussels - Belgium - Office BU33 7/09 Telephone: direct line (+32-2)299.66.11 / 295.26.65 switchboard (+32-2)299.11.11. Fax: (+32-2) 296.83.95 E-mail : cnect-rsc@ec.europa.eu
Some railway infrastructure managers are increasingly raising their concerns on the cases of interferences that they are experiencing. They are requesting their National Radio Spectrum Regulatory body to exercise their mandate to coordinate and foster the resolution of conflicts amongst radio services providers. In UK, several new UMTS sites have been installed by public operators. There are differences measured between the different operators: the spectrum of one operator seems to be reduced by the installation in the public BTS of additional filters, whereas other base stations appear with strong signals in the GSM-R band. The tests done together with Ofcom showed big differences: the results measured in the lab showed no influence, whereas the field results showed what railways are claiming, that they are strongly disturbed. ORR planned to start active negotiations with Ofcom to find a common solution. In Belgium, a proactive approach has been taken to solve the current and the potential GSM- R interference problems before the actual implementation of ERTMS Level 2 on the conventional rail network. They are ready to modify some configuration in their GSM-R network, and to make a planning in agreement with the plans of the public operators. However, for the current cases that have appeared, they have requested the National Radio Spectrum Regulator to chair the coordination activities and to act as a referee in the allocation of responsibilities. Sweden has a different radio situation: UMTS 900 is installed and has a restriction in the power emitted that will disappear in a few years (2015). It is imperative in this situation to protect the interests of both parties: the different authorities (transport and IT) together with the industries (railway and telecommunication) have studied the possible solutions and they have found a way forward: they propose to install filters on the UMTS BTSs in the areas close to the tracks to reduce unwanted emissions, and to install filters on board of the (incumbent/national) trains to reduce the effect of the in-band noise produced by the broadband signals in the GSM-R band. This solution, that may be effective in this environment, is not in line with the concept of non-discrimination to the vehicles inherent to the opening of the European railway market (not all of them may be, then, in the same conditions to travel through that area). Problems have been also reported in other countries. It is just a start. UIC has been deeply involved in the activities of raising awareness and characterisation of the interferences to GSM-R networks. During the end of the last year (2011), a specific testing campaign took place in Italy (at the European Commission s Joint Research Centre, JRC), to demonstrate the real blocking behaviour of GSM-R radio modules, using market available GSM-R radios. Unwanted emissions from UMTS or LTE base stations to the GSM-R downlink, which are additional factors causing interferences to GSM-R, were outside the scope of these tests (they may be subject for further testing). The tests checked the blocking with one interferer, the effect of the selectivity when more than one interferer is present. UIC has also organized an ad-hoc group and issued the report O-8700 to help the understanding of different aspects of the problems seen. The UIC Frequency Management Group regularly meets and studies the information available from different countries and technical evolution that would be an improvement. The European Railway Agency (ERA) is aware of the activities above and has been involved in most of them, with the target to assist the European Commission (DG Move) in order to find solutions at E.U. level (requested by the railway actors and ministries) to achieve the coexistence of all the technologies. Interference Workshop 3
The European Commission (DG Move) and the European Railway Agency (ERA) have organised the 1 st Interference Workshop in Lille. Organisations involved in frequency issues have been invited to participate at this workshop which took place in the premises of ERA on the 5th of November 2012. The event focussed on the status, possible technical solutions, their impact and the way forward. The workshop allowed an open and dynamic exchange of views and understanding of the impact in railway operation and legislation. The workshop was divided in 4 parts: Interference status presented by some railways Catalogue of possible solutions Legal impact of the different solutions (railway/telecom legislation ) How to progress ( short term/long term) The first session gave an overview about the impact of the interferences in the operational conditions of railways. Today, more than 60 000 km of lines equipped with GSM-R are in in operation; 160 000Km are planned to be covered by this system. During the first years, no disturbances have been registered along the railway lines; the impact started with the new licenses for the E Band and this became a new dimension with the development of broadband systems like UMTS and LTE. These new technologies are now been implemented in the 900MHz band. The implementation of such new systems is foreseen nearby the railway lines, so that the passengers can get access to the broadband systems. This creates potential ground for interference into the GSM-R band. In the old ECC Recommendations REC0802 and REC0508, only the coordination at the borders was described; in the last EC decisions 676/2002/EC, 2009/766/EC, coordination by MS is mentioned in the following way: (7th Whereas): [ ] Member States should take whatever measures are necessary to protect the continued operation of GSM systems from harmful interference. Art 5.2 Member States shall ensure that other systems [ ] give appropriate protection to systems in adjacent bands. It was stated that the majority of MS are not taking into account this activity; neither giving any feedback in the timeframe of max 4 months declared in the Directive 2002/21/EC (article 20) and Directive 2009/140/EC, with the modified article 20. During this first part of the workshop, railways reported about their disturbances (location, length, kind of, etc.), activities performed to solve these problems, negotiations with public operator and discussions with National Frequency Regulators. In some MS, the introduction of so called "round table meetings has been initiated and some activities have been registered. The second part of the workshop showed the different possible solutions to be used by all involved parties. The session started with an explanation of intermodulation of 3rd order and blocking. This was followed by presentations about the technical solutions that could be implemented in the cab of the locomotive. The following solutions were presented Coordination by frequency regulator Implementation of Filter in the cabin radio New GSM-R module with better linearity to avoid production of IM 3 rd order products 4
Filter implementation at the BTS of the public operator to reduce the unwanted emissions Network planning and network optimisation (public and railways) At the end of the session, it was clear for all participants that the solution by implementing a filter in the cab will not solve all the problems. For new sites, a better coordination by the regulator is unavoidable. This means that in order to take a decision, a complete tool set is needed. The existing report 162 should be reviewed and a new report is required to include unwanted emission values. The planning phase should be coordinated and network optimisation including frequency coordination is a must. For existing problem sites, a common coordination approach between the public operators and railway infrastructure managers is needed (network optimisation, filter implementation in the public BTS, shifting the handover point in the GSM-R network, adding additional BTS etc.) As a long term solution, the upgrading of the GSM-R module in the cab radio seems to be a possibility. It was proposed to test the new developed modules together with the filter solution in a real railway environment to confirm the lab values presented during the workshop. Conclusion of this part: there is no single solution; a bundle of measures has to be taken. In the 3rd part of the workshop, railway and telecom legislation was presented and discussed. The existing EC Decisions and Regulations for the telecom part are available and unambiguous. However, application seems to be a problem. Moreover, the tools (ECC reports) are considered not sufficient to tackle problems in real life and they are not compulsory (not included in a law) but are simple recommendations. Their update is urgently needed. The existing ERTMS Commission Decision 2012/88/EC (CCS TSI) does not prescribe the filter solution describe above. It is therefore not a legal solution and may not be imposed on infrastructure managers and railway undertakings. Modification of this Decision has a big impact on railway actors (time and money). In the last session, the way forward and measures to be taken have been discussed. Action points suggested have been noted to create solutions for the short and long term period. The start of a field test with filters and improved modules has been decided to create possible solutions, change requests to the documents in the CCS TSI will be prepared, studies and analysis have been agreed.the different proposed action points are now bundled in an action list prepared by all participants at the end of the workshop. The action point list has been distributed for review and completion to define the final dates and responsible organisations. This list will be placed on the ERA WEB site together with all presentations done during the workshop. The Commission services (DG MOVE and DG CNNECT) agreed to follow-up the action point list with stakeholders. Practical details have still to be agreed. These documents can be found under the following link: http://www.era.europa.eu/core-activities/ertms/pages/interference-workshop.aspx 5