20of Excellence. Spectrum. Years. LS telcom Edition 01 l LS telcom Customer News Magazine

Transcription

1 Spectrum LS telcom Customer News Magazine Edition 01 l 2012 Editorial Latest LS telcom Years 20of Excellence Roland Götz, Dr. Manfred Lebherz, Dr. Georg Schöne Members of the Board In 1992, to live their passion and drive for innovation in radio communications, two entrepreneurs, Dr. Manfred Lebherz and Dr. Georg Schöne founded the company LS telcom in Lichtenau. L&S Hochfrequenztechnik was registered on 17th January 1992 with the mission to deliver efficient radio frequency spectrum use and the optimal operation of radio communication services. This mission has continued until today, twenty years later, as LS telcom AG. Through continuous innovation, dedication to customers, active participation in national and international organisations and study groups LS telcom has not only shaped the market for spectrum management systems, but is the worldwide market leader today in the provision of automated spectrum management solutions and integration with monitoring systems. It also counts amongst the pioneers in broadcast and telecommunications network planning software as well as services. What started in a former garage and bicycle-shop as a two-man business has developed into an international company employing over 180 highly motivated people who support customers in over 90 countries across all continents. Numerous customers know us from our very beginning and have accompanied us until today. This year, LS telcom celebrates its 20th anniversary and has never been in a better shape to benefit from new market opportunities and growth worldwide. The last financial year brought record contracts from the Gulf Region and further major deals were closed with customers in Australia, Great Britain, South Africa and Germany. Our total orders increased by 30% compared to last year, which guarantees us great stability for the coming years. In addition, we have made a great leap forward in product developments and have introduced new business activities in the area of monitoring and measurement hardware. We are very pleased to celebrate the company s 20th anniversary while being very optimistic for the future, says Dr. Manfred Lebherz delighted. This confidence is also reflected in the foundation of two new LS companies. The LS telcom group is already present with subsidiaries in Canada, China, France and South Africa, and representative offices Oman and Hungary. To better serve the US market and customers, LS telcom has now opened a subsidiary in Annapolis, Maryland, USA. The company did not only evolve on the geographic front, but has also expanded its business activities. A second newly created subsidiary, Colibrex GmbH in Germany, will develop integrated intelligent system solutions which combine LS software and measurement hardware technology to serve market niches. Initially, Colibrex will provide software and measurement techniques on flying platforms. The expansion of business around new hardware activities in the area of spectrum management and monitoring system integration, white space management and transmitter container installation constitutes a very important development for LS telcom and is expected to have high growth potential. Completely integrated systems have already been delivered to customers and have contributed an important part to last year s revenue. The latest product, LS OBSERVER, brings many advantages over conventional monitoring systems to customers, including the measurement of wide frequency bands, storage of huge amounts of data, scalability and a small footprint. To be continued on page 2...

2 Edition 01 l 2012 I Spectrum Years of Excellence: LS telcom continued from page 1 Customers benefit from LS telcom s double expertise and experience in spectrum management software as well as monitoring. Today, LS telcom is in a position to design and deliver integrated turnkey solutions of integrated spectrum management and monitoring systems. Whatever the customer s stage in the system life cycle LS telcom covers everything from design and development, through production and operation, to maintenance and support, and, eventually, de-installation. The same is true for the new offer of turnkey supply of digital broadcast transmitter systems readily installed in containers for transport and operation. The offered services range from planning, implementation, testing, shipping and on-site installations, build-up through to commissioning to the point where the transmitters are ready to operate. Strong focus is also put on consulting and engineering services. LS telcom is a recognised expert in the area of digital PMR network planning, including indoor networks, for Governments and large scale industries. Continuous innovation and excellence in all that is undertaken has been the company s priority for the last 20 years. Very early, in 1995, LS telcom entered the market with the first version of SPECTRAplus, which is in its current version still the number one software solution for spectrum management systems. The same is true for broadcast: LS telcom ranks amongst the pioneers in FM and TV broadcast network planning. The famous CHIRplus_BC planning tool has been developed since 1992 and was first sold in It was the first professional software of its kind for T-DAB, DAB+, DVB-T & T2, DVB-H, ISDB-T and DRM(+) on the market for these technologies and it is continuously developed for new services and inter-service analysis and optimisation. Innovative products and developments at LS telcom are driven by extensive research & development, precious input and feedback from a multitude of customers and a set of brilliant experts, who use their creativity and passion to improve the solutions day by day. We would not have made LS telcom the company it is today without our dedicated employees and customers. For that we would like to thank all of them. LS telcom could only grow to today s strength and position in the market owing to its many dedicated employees and customers. At our 20th company anniversary we are a technology and expert leader in our domain and well-positioned for further growth. Exciting years of technology changes and innovations are ahead of us. Our mission is to continue to excel in the delivery of most innovative products and services as well as in the relationship with our customers, says Dr. Georg Schöne. 20 years of LS telcom Three Short Q&As: What s new? LS telcom Inc. in USA Colibrex GmbH New products and services in system integration and hardware monitoring as well as more experience in PMR network planning What s as usual? The support you get from us as a customer Our drive for excellence and capacity for innovation Our dedication to customers What is changing? We are expecting more growth than ever We are recruiting The number of our employees is approaching the figure of 200 worldwide Latest Developments in Brief October 2010 Record contracts from Oman and Bahrain with a total sales volume of 10,4mio December 2010 Major contracts from Australia and Hungary for system extensions with a total sales volume of 1,3mio Juli 2011 New subsidiaries in USA and Germany: LS telcom Inc. in Annapolis, USA, and Colibrex GmbH in Lichtenau, Germany, for the development of measurement solutions for unmanned airborne vehicles (UAV) August 2011 Major contracts for spectrum management solutions from Australia, Canada and Oman, with a total sales volume of 10,8mio September 2011 At the end of the financial year 2010/2011 LS telcom is exceeding the 20mio in turnover and more growth is expected LS telcom Company History Dr. Manfred Lebherz and Dr. Georg Schöne founded the company L&S Hochfrequenztechnik The company focuses on telecommunications Fifty participants take part in the first LS Summit Conference in the company s headquarters First dedicated software solution for regulatory authorities Change from Apple Macintosh to Microsoft Windows Platform New software solutions for digital radio and televis Product extension to cover spectrum monitorin Foundation of LS tions Services

3 Edition 01 l 2012 I Spectrum 03 Successful Monitoring System Integration in Bahrain Spectrum monitoring is a vital ingredient in an effective spectrum management regime, both for resolving interference issues and for supplying licensing actives with real world data on spectrum use. Picture 1: Monitoring Equipment Picture 2: Monitoring and measurement vehicle with antenna installation Therefore, in response to the proliferation of modern broadband radio communications technologies, and following a public tender launched by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, a contract was awarded to LS telcom for the supply of a nationwide monitoring system using current technologies. (see also LS Spectrum edition 02/2011). The system was installed, tested and put into operation in record time by a team of project managers, construction engineers and monitoring experts from several LS telcom group entities as well as a local installation team. Receivers, antennas, and software as well as cable and connectors were upgraded at four monitoring sites. Also within the scope of the contract were a spectrum monitoring and measurement vehicle with trailer, the installation of a new monitoring system at the Ministry of Transportation premises and several portable monitoring kits to enable enforcement inspections, indoor investigations and SHF measurements. The removal of existing equipment and installation of the new equipment on the existing towers was achieved in about one week per site. The equipment consisting of antennas, receivers, software, cables and lightning rod was installed with the help of a large 200 ton crane. A bespoke antenna mast adaptor, made of special non-corrosive steel and including a cross brace to ensure stabilisation to withstand very high wind speeds, was designed by LS telcom to accommodate the complement of antennas chosen by the customer. (see picture 1) During the installation the engineers faced rain and wind speeds of 45-50km/h and had to climb up and down the tower several times a day on certain days. Coordination of activities and time management is very important during installation. You have to deal often with the unexpected, too. For example, at one site it was necessary to dig a 2 metres deep ditch to lay a new copper earthing cable before we could continue the work. We still managed to finish the project on time as planned. said Joachim Tschan, the project manager in the system integration and monitoring department at LS telcom. The monitoring vehicle was purchased in Oman before being shipped to Bahrain for registration. It was then shipped from Bahrain to LS telcom s headquarters in Lichtenau, Germany, where the monitoring equipment was integrated and installed by LS telcom experts. LS telcom also developed a bespoke hinge construction enabling the mast at the rear of the car to be lowered by electrical winch down to a horizontal position to enable easy installation and removal of the antennas. With the mast back in vertical position, the antenna can be winched up to the desired height. (see picture 2) This makes the antenna installation for measurement campaigns more convenient and one person is able to set up the entire antenna equipment on their own. LS telcom organised the complete shipping, from the selection of the freight carrier, special transport packaging and customs clearance. Altogether the shipped equipment weighed about 25 tons, filled half an MD11 airplane and two trucks for the ground transport. For system integration projects LS telcom can modernise monitoring equipment on existing towers, as was done in Bahrain, but can also deliver turnkey solutions which involve building new sites and towers including road building in addition to the installation of masts and all kinds of facilities, such as electricity, electrical grounding and water. The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) of Thailand acquires LS telcom Spectrum Management Solution The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC), the independent regulator of Thailand, has successfully introduced a new spectrum management solution. ion g of South Africa Radio Communica- (Pty) Ltd., Johannesburg/South Africa Foundation of LS telcom AG through the merger of L&S Hochfrequenztechnik GmbH and L&S Radio Communications GmbH Foundation of the representative office Budapest, Hungary The new system integrates the Non- Business Licensing Bureau, the Telecommunications Technology and Engineering Bureau, the Radio Frequency Monitoring Bureau and its 14 regional offices and allows them to access the centrally operated database and application via advanced browser technology. The new spectrum management system solution comprises administrative modules for supporting the administrative tasks and engineering modules for conducting technical studies as part of the frequency assignment process and IPO on German Stock Exchange Market in Frankfurt and access to Funds for International Expansion 2002 LS telcom gains access to the North and South American Market through the acquisition of Spectrocan which becomes the Canadian subsidiary LS telcom Ltd. Development of SPECTRAair 2003 feasibility studies. The system was delivered, installed and put successfully into operations by the Canadian solution provider and systems integrator LS telcom Limited, a member of the German based LS telcom group, together with LS telcom s local Thai LS telcom establishes its LS Training & Competence Centre partner. The modern and advanced spectrum management system will support the NBTC on its path to become a leading regulatory body in the region and towards a more efficient use of spectrum in Thailand for the benefit of all spectrum users. First A to Z integration project for complete spectrum management and monitoring solution LS telcom AG acquires the Spectrum Un International / France which become subsidiary LS telcom SAS. LS telco is the su 2007

4 Edition 01 l 2012 I Spectrum 04 Costa Rican Regulator SUTEL acquires additional Planning and Coordination Software from LS telcom Costa Rican regulator, Superintendencia de Telecomunicaciones, SUTEL, decided to increase their user base and acquired additional user licenses and user training services of the fixed link planning tool CHIRplus_FX, after its successful initial implementation in their headquarters in San José in November Furthermore, as the young regulator grows and solidifies its increasingly demanding mandate, a new requirement for the planning and coordination of broadcast services prompted the acquisition of a complete suite of LS telcom broadcast solution CHIRplus_BC. This does not only include all modules for analogue and digital radio and television, but also modules for HF and LF/MF, and additional propagation models such as IRT and CRC Predict. The software installation is completed and will be followed by user training sessions. FM Band Audit and Implementation of an Integrated Spectrum Management and Monitoring Solution for the Guatemalan Regulator SIT The Guatemalan regulator, Superintendencia de Telecomunicaciones, SIT, decided to carry out an audit of FM band frequency occupancy in some regions to better serve the current demand for available frequencies in this band. LS telcom professional services were contracted by our Guatemalan partner EBIS de Guatemala to carry out SIT s FM band Audit project. The specialist from LS telcom conducted a series of field measurements on site in the departments of El Progreso, Quetzaltenango and Retalhuleu which resulted in a Preliminary Report submitted to SIT. The Final Report incorporating input from SIT and including LS telcom s recommendations is expected to be completed early in In autumn 2011, LS telcom delivered and implemented in a record time an integrated Spectrum Management and Monitoring System, which SIT acquired to respond to their urgent needs. The integrated system comprises LS telcom s SPECTRA solution including a central database, SPECTRAplus_db, the licensing module SPECTRAadmin, the broadcast services tool CHIRplus_BC and the interface with the monitoring equipment MONITORplus. The system also comprises a Monitoring Control Centre and two Mobile Monitoring Units provided by Canadian Monitoring Integrator and provider Aerosystems International Inc. Both monitoring stations were installed and integrated in all terrain vehicles prepared and conditioned by LS telcom s authorised distributor in Guatemala. Long term Relationship between Ecuadorian Regulator SENATEL and LS telcom After the successful completion of the SPECTRA System implementation project at the Secretaría Nacional de Telecomunicaciones of Ecuador, the Ecuadorian regulator decided to increment its base of trained system users by acquiring additional user licences for a number of the modules, namely, the licensing module SPECTRAadmin, and two of its technical tools, SPECTRAemc and MULTIlink. SENATEL also continues its professional relationship with LS telcom by entering into a Maintenance and Support Agreement, which was signed shortly after the end of the Technical Warranty of the System. Under this Agreement SENATEL will receive the latest and improved versions of the SPECTRA system including the new microwave planning tool CHIRplus_FX. Safety first for Qatar Citizens The Supreme Council of Information and Communication Technology in Qatar, the ICT, has recently published guidelines on health and safety standards for radio frequency (RF) emissions in line with ICNIRP*. They now want to make sure that ICNIRP s and the Qatar Ministry of Environment s regulations are met and that radiation is not deemed harmful for residents and the general public in any given area. This is why the Council has asked LS telcom to carry out a series of monitoring tests to measure the EM (electromagnetic) radiation of 2G and 3G mobile base stations. The tests include wideband tests to get an overview of the intensity of the electromagnetic field present at the point of measurement and to determine the RF emission levels resulting from all the signal frequencies. Narrow band tests will be performed for sites where a breach in the EMF exposure limits during the wide band tests have been detected in order to identify the individual transmit frequencies and field strengths of each emission present. LS telcom will deliver detailed reports on all measurements. *ICNIRP = International Commission of Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection nit of CTS es the French om makes it happen: LS telcom s SPECTRA system solution e first internet-based spectrum management solution to fully upport the e-government and to introduce the paperless office! LS telcom opens office in Muscat, Oman First spectrum management and monitoring project for the military Successful implementation of a spectrum management enterprise solution for the British regulatory authority OFCOM LS telcom invests in NG Networks Co., Ltd. in Suzhou, China Creation of the System Integration & Monitoring Department Foundation of LS telcom Inc. in Annapolis, USA, and Colibrex GmbH in Lichtenau for flying measurement platforms LS telcom celebrates its 20th Company Anniversary

5 Edition 01 l 2012 I Spectrum 05 Electromagnetic Field (EMF) Simulations and Measurements for Public Safety Along with new wireless technologies and yet more base stations, electromagnetic exposure becomes more and more a subject, the general public is aware of. But few know that the technical requirements for transmitters are flanked by national and international protective regulations for public safety, which determine threshold values for human exposure to electromagnetic radiation. In many countries the abidance by these scientific thresholds is strictly supervised. The threshold value for human exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF) is determined at a fiftieth of the specific absorption rate (SAR) which is defined as the power absorbed per mass of (body) tissue and has units of watts per kilogram (W/kg). From this value you can deduct the maximal allowed antenna power and power density (W/m2). LS telcom offers to national regulators, operators, municipalities and all other stakeholders which control the human exposure to Electromagnetic Field (EMF) the complete portfolio of EMF studies, based on EMF predictions, measurements and monitoring. These are based on the standards of the International Commission for Non- Ionizing Radiation Protection (short ICNIRP), the World Health Organisation (WHO), and the EU Commission. LS telcom experts can simulate EMF for a single site or for the complete network and carry out short-term and long-term EMF measurements. EMF Site Analysis Based on power and antenna parameters LS telcom experts predict and evaluate the EMF level in terms of E-field (V/m), power density (W/m2) and fraction of exposure limits (%), which represents the percentage of the threshold value to which the public can be exposed. In addition, LS telcom engineers can calculate the safety distance for occupational and general public exposure around the antenna with respect to ICNIRP standards. The Electromagnetic Emission Compliance is shown per site in a report, including vertical and horizontal cut plane, 3D patterns and fraction of exposure limits in order for regulators and operators to provide proof that human exposure at a certain antenna site is safe. Format and style of the reports can be customised. In picture 1 you can see the different safety zones. The red zone shows the occupational safety zone. For maintenance workers to enter this area, the antenna has to be switched off. The yellow field constitutes the safety zone for the general public and the cut plane in blue at people s height represents the general public exposure, which shows a fraction of exposure limit in this example up to a max. fraction of 3.277%. EMF Network Wide Analysis LS telcom can also perform computerbased network wide EMF simulations and predictions. The network wide analysis includes the field strength and the cumulative fraction of exposure limits for all radio services, such as broadcast and telecommunications. Picture 2 shows that the fraction of exposure limit in the city shown is 10% in very limited areas only around certain antennas and in the remaining areas it is 1% or less. Regulators, municipalities or other entities can publish these maps on the Internet for the general public to consult. The calculated exposure results can be overlaid with street maps or with Google Earth (see picture 3) to show the fraction of exposure limit at a certain location in a city. This way, municipalities bearing the responsibility for the safety of public facilities and sites, such as nurseries and schools, in particular, can provide proof to the general public. Picture 2: Fraction of exposure limits (General Public Exposure) EMF Measurements & Monitoring Regular EMF measurements can confirm site certificate procedures and EMF simulations. LS telcom carries out short-term wideband and narrowband EMF measurements and long-term EMF monitoring. Short-term measurements are made with handheld devices or with an unmanned miniature helicopter that can fly around the antenna. The measurement results are then compared with the exposure limits imposed by the relevant standards and regulations, and the actual occupational and general public safety zones can be plotted. For short-term measurement studies LS telcom applies Maximum Traffic Extrapolation to provide the exposure limit for maximum traffic conditions besides the measurement value at a given measurement time, when traffic may not necessarily be at its maximum. The performance of reliable wideband and narrowband measurements are based on proven measurement procedures and equipment. At first, engineers undertake wideband measurements, which measure the field strength at given locations. Where the wideband tests do not provide satisfactory results, i.e. are not compliant with the regulations, narrowband measurements are carried out additionally. These are able to detect which stations and services cause problems. In heavily frequented public places or in locations where the fraction of exposure limit is particularly high you may want to measure EMF continually to proof to the public that exposure limits are not exceeded at these locations. In this case, you can set up our monitoring and measurement system LS OBSERVER. It has a very small footprint and can be set up literally anywhere. With LS OBSERVER regulators can optimise frequency attribution and use and at the same time measure EMF on a permanent basis. Picture 1: 3D cut plane The Software IXUS from EMSS was used for this calculation. Environmental slice % of ICNIRP Public Picture 3: Emission cadaster - Overlay of simulation on street maps

6 Edition 01 l 2012 I Spectrum 06 Visit us at our Booth... ABU Digital Broadcasting Symposium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 6 th - 9 th March 2012 EU Policy for Dynamic Spectrum Access Brussels, Belgium 7 th March 2012 Middle East Spectrum Management Conference, Manama, Bahrain 20 th - 21 st March 2012 SVIAZ/Expo Comm, Moscow, Russia 14 th - 17 th May 2012 TETRA World Congress, Dubai, United Arab Emirates 15 th - 17 th May 2012 PMR mobil 2012, Hanover, Nuremberg, Cologne 22 nd - 24 th May th Annual EU Spectrum Management Conference, Brussels, Belgium 27 th - 28 th June th LS Summit, 4th July 2012 Reserve your participation now! Contact Ms Sandra Lahm on tel: or by SLahm@LStelcom.com. Call for Papers If you would like to contribute to the programme with an expert presentation on an innovative subject, please send your proposal for evaluation to Ms Sandra Lahm (SLahm@LStelcom.com). We look forward to receiving your ideas! Please note, however, that we cannot accept product presentations. UserGroup Meeting 2012 Maximum Benefit from Shared Experience! LS telcom software users are invited to exchange hands-on user experience in the UserGroup Meeting taking place on Monday & Tuesday, 2nd and 3rd of July On the agenda again: Best practise presentations by users for users! If you would like to actively contribute with a presentation on a certain user topic or a report on a project related to our software or service portfolio, please contact Ms Sandra Lahm (SLahm@LStelcom.com). Training Calendar 2012/2013 The new training calendar 2012/2013 is available now. A softcopy can be downloaded from our website Alternatively you may contact Ms Sandra Lahm by (SLahm@LStelcom. com) or under tel: for further information on our seminars or for our customised training programmes. Please note that a German version of our training calendar is also available this year. You can choose from the standard programme and we can also organise certain courses in German for you upon request. Become an LS telcom FAN on Facebook! Everyone who becomes a FAN of LS telcom until the 2nd of March will have a chance to win a mini helicopter. SPOT ON LS telcom plans TV Network for German Community in Belgium LS telcom will plan the coverage for a TV network offering programmes in German to the Germans living in Belgium. MulConPro, a consultancy service provider for multimedia projects asked LS telcom to calculate the coverage for a core TV network consisting of two main DVB-T transmitters and also to carry out calculations for several constellations with additional transmitter sites to optimise coverage. Interference Calculation for Malaysian Company AMP AMP, Airtime Management & Programming Radio Network Sdn Bhd*, a Malaysia Company, is relocating a transmitter in East Malaysia and asked LS telcom to carry out the necessary interference analyses. LS telcom experts will carry out interference calculations for several FM broadcast frequencies. They will use the broadcast planning software CHIRplus_BC to analyse and guarantee that the relocated frequencies will not cause more interference to the existing networks than the current sites. * Sendirian Berhad = Malay equivalent to incorporated Imprint 2012 for all photos and texts: LS telcom Group if not stated otherwise Editor: Christiane Labitzke Layout: Sabrina Scheck Headquarters LS telcom AG, Germany Subsidiaries LS telcom Limited, Canada LS telcom SAS, France LS of South Africa Radio Communications (Pty) LTD LS telcom Inc., USA Im Gewerbegebiet Lichtenau Germany 1 Antares Drive, Suite 510 Ottawa, ON, K2E 8C4 Canada 4 av Morane-Saulnier, Bât. A Vélizy France 131 Gelding Ave, Ruimsig, Roodepoort, 1724 Johannesburg South Africa 716 Melvin Avenue, Annapolis, MD USA +49 (0) (0) (0) (0) (0) (0) (0) (0) (0) Info@LStelcom.com