8 Spectrum use
Every Powder experiment must declare its spectrum usage in advance: while arbitrary reception is possible, transmission on any frequency is permitted only by prior permission.
Program Experimental licencees may submit experiment notifcations on the FCC OET Experiments System site to operate within the Salt Lake City Innovation Zone. Details are available in the Public Notice announcing the Innovation Zone.
The frequency bands appropriate for experimenter use varies by node type; more details are available in the hardware chapter. The following table provides a summary of frequencies for currently operational equipment:
Frequency (GHz) |
| Operational node types |
| Base station cellsdr nodes; Fixed endpoint nuc and ue nodes | |
| Skylark Wireless Massive MIMO | |
| Base station cbrssdr nodes | |
| Base station cbrssdr nodes |
8.1 Radio monitoring
To ensurce compliance with FCC regulations and Powder acceptable use conditions, dedicated RF monitoring hardware continuously measures the operation of Powder radios and verifies that transmitters are being operated correctly. Powder experiments will be shut down automatically if violations are detected.
If you have any questions about Powder compliance monitoring, please contact support@powderwireless.net before experimentation.
8.1.1 Conducted RF
The Powder conducted RF hardware (specifically, the attenuator matrix nodes and the paired radio workbench SDRs) are not subject to RF monitoring, and Powder users are able to operate these radios at their discretion. (Please note that the general Powder acceptable use policy still applies.)
8.1.2 Radiated RF
For other radio hardware (any transmit port connected to an antenna), Powder applies an approach described by Wang et al. and continually checks transmitter output against the frequency and power bounds specified in the experiment parameters. If transmitter behaviour strays outside those bounds, the experiment will be shut down. Therefore, it is essential to take proper care both when specifying the experiment as well as throughout its operation.
8.1.3 Massive MIMO
Conventional monitoring is not applied for the RENEW massive MIMO hardware, where special procedures apply. Please consult support@powderwireless.net for details about operating the massive MIMO arrays.