Systems For Spectrum Forensics

Abstract

Historically, spectrum allocations were assigned to a single user by regulation and spectrum interference was relatively easy to identify. Enforcement was simplified by having a small set of known licensees. Spectrum regulation is increasingly moving toward dynamic spectrum access mediated by databases, exclusion zones, sensors and other methods intended to improve spectrum efficiency. To have meaning, these spectrum sharing mechanisms must have some form of enforcement. While the spectrum policy community has consider ex-post (preventative) and ex-ante (punitive) enforcement mechanisms, enforcement will rely on spectrum forensics -- the scientific gathering of information to inform an enforcement action. In this paper, we initiate exploration of a system for spectrum forensics that combines crowd-sourced interference detection, fixed sensors and aerial measurement as well as a system for minimizing the data that needs to be collected. As part of a multi-tiered approach, the highest tier will be enabled by the equivalent of an "SDR in the sky" for self-directed localization and identification of interference sources.