TITLE: Geography of Urban Radiofrequency Noise: New Mobile Measurements from Boston

PRESENTER: Caitlin Haedrich, Research Physical Scientist - CRREL

ABSTRACT: Radio-frequency (RF) background noise is a spatially-varying and critical parameter for predicting radio communication and electromagnetic sensor system performance in urban environments. Radio-frequency (RF) noise has typically been measured at a handful of fixed, representative locations within the urban environment. In this presentation, we discuss the development of a mobile RF noise measurement system and the necessary geospatial and statistical post-processing techniques required to characterize variations in noise on the street-scale in the VHF sections (60 - 300 MHz) of the spectrum.  We use a preliminary urban dataset from Boston, MA to show that the geo-statistical properties of RF noise power can vary appreciably over street-scale distances, and that these spatial variations are repeatable over tactically relevant times.