Wireless Access Platforms for Electronic Communications Services Management

Wireless Access Platforms for Electronic Communications Services Management (WAPECS) a proposed framework for the provision of electronic communications services within a set of frequency bands to be identified and agreed between European Union Member States in which a range of electronic communications networks and electronic communications services may be offered on a technology and service neutral basis, provided that certain technical requirements to avoid interference are met, to ensure the effective and efficient use of the spectrum, and the authorisation conditions do not distort competition.

The term “WAPECS” has been used to signal a move away from too narrowly
specified allocations and applications, for which specific spectrum is designated.
Under this definition of WAPECS, it is envisaged that technologies will be
stimulated to deliver all electronic communications services within their capabilities,
making use of any frequency band and networks. However, this is subject to
technical coexistence requirements which need to be tailored to each specific band.

The concept was proposed in May 2004 by the European Commission asked an EU committee "Radio Spectrum Policy Group" to develop an “opinion” on a new approach to wireless policy to be tried in a limited number of bands. In Dec 2007 CEPT's (European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations) European Communications Committee (ECC) issued a draft report, and in March 2008, the European Commission’s Communications Committee (CoCom) expressed a positive opinion on the Draft Commission Recommendation
(RSCOM08-1625).

The bands identified for WAPECS are now:
* 470-862 MHz;
* 880-915 MHz / 925-960 MHz (900 MHz bands);
* 1710-1785 MHz / 1805-1880 MHz (1800 MHz bands);
* 1900-1980 MHz / 2010-2025 MHz / 2110-2170 MHz (2 GHz bands);
* 2500-2690 MHz;
* 3.4-3.8 GHz


The CEPT report discusses possible techniques for describing the “least restrictive technical conditions” for limiting usage of a band:

* Traditional compatibility and sharing analysis method
* The Block Edge Mask (BEM) PSD approach
* PFD Masks - Aggregate PFD approach - UK approach (SURs)
* Aggregate PSD Transmitter Masks
* The Hybrid Approach
* Space-Centric Management - Australian approach

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