Radio Frequency Receiver Performance

This white paper provides a timely technical analysis of receiver performance with 5G Americas providing contributions and recommendations toward positive outcomes regarding coexistence. The FCC Notice of Inquiry released in April 2022, “Promoting Efficient Use of Spectrum through Improved Receiver Interference Immunity Performance”, highlights this issue. The demand for more network capacity continues unabated, and requires deployment in additional spectrum. Some services initially utilized large fallow spectrum bands, but greater usage of those bands has created new sources of out of band interference. Legacy receivers that were designed for the original benign conditions may not be adequate under new harsher conditions.

Regulation focuses on transmitters, but adding restrictions to only newly deployed systems to compensate for inadequate legacy receiver performance can become counterproductive. Receiver performance considerations must be prioritized; receiver performance should evolve over time as spectrum becomes increasingly crowded. This would entail upgrades or replacements to equipment over time. Effective self-policing negates additional regulator intervention in industries like mobile networks that have a well-functioning system of evolving standards, and market forces that encourage equipment upgrades for better performance. However, other industries that lack such mechanisms may require regulator attention. Each situation should be examined on a case-by-case basis with policies crafted accordingly. Ultimately, the industry would benefit greatly from a clear, long term spectrum plan designed to enable a predictable timeline of equipment upgrades.