Public procurement notice: Prior Information Notice Without Call For Competition
Published: 2016-06-11
Buyer: Department of Culture, Media and Sport
Country: UK
Region: LONDON
Contract type: Services
CPV classification: 64200000 | 72212326 | 73110000

Technical requirements: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) wishes to commission a trial of a mapping tool to bring together appropriate geographical and other data relevant to the siting of high frequency radio infrastructure, such as will be used when 5th generation mobile wireless systems (5G) are deployed. The data would be used to locate the optimum sites for radio access nodes and any infrastructure, such as masts, in order to ensure efficient and effective capacity coverage.
The trial will identify any benefits of the method and show how the information gained from the trial could be used to develop a 5G infrastructure planning tool suitable for operation across the UK and overseas.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) wishes to commission a trial of a mapping tool to bring together appropriate geographical and other data relevant to the siting of high frequency radio infrastructure, such as will be used when 5th generation mobile wireless systems (5G) are deployed. The data would be used to locate the optimum sites for radio access nodes and any infrastructure, such as masts, in order to ensure efficient and effective capacity coverage.
The trial will identify any benefits of the method and show how the information gained from the trial could be used to develop a 5G infrastructure planning tool suitable for operation across the UK and overseas.
For 5G mobile services, radio spectrum will be used at higher frequencies than current technology (2G/3G/4G), in order to carry more data. For the purpose of this project, this means bands above 6 GHz. However, at such frequencies the distances between base station and devices will have to be less than on current systems, because of the characteristics of radio waves at these frequencies, and obtaining adequate coverage will be more difficult.
Current radio propagation tools were designed for lower frequencies. For 5G more sophisticated tools for network deployment and management will be needed, particularly given the greater number of variables affecting the transmission and reception of higher frequencies. Infrastructure will represent a significant part of 5G deployment costs and detailed understanding of the interaction of 5G radio infrastructure with topography, including the built and natural environments, will minimise the risks associated with roll-out, ensuring good coverage and better returns on investment.
The project will determine what geo-spatial data (for instance topography, built environment, vegetation) are necessary to be able to make effective predictions about where 5G infrastructure should be sited to achieve the best performance of the network, including optimal coverage.
The supplier will demonstrate the use of the data over a real area of the UK that exhibits a variety of landscape features and includes areas of urban and rural land use. An area of at least 40 square kilometres is required. DCMS has proposed the area of the Borough of Bournemouth, in the county of Dorset, England, or another suitable area in the south-west of England. Bidders may propose different areas, which may be accepted at the discretion of DCMS.
The successful supplier will develop a mapping tool, which should include modelling of features, identifying buildings, walls, vegetation and other relevant structures together with a costed methodology for capturing this information. The tool must incorporate 1 or more signal propagation models for the trial area capable of generating predicted 5G radio signal coverage footprints. The model should be accessible as an interactive down-loadable package and include a pictorial user interface.
This tool would enable 5G network providers to work out where best to put their equipment, for example by working out detailed lines of sight for small antennas in urban environments and calculating how to account for obstacles such as bridges, buildings, trees and vegetation, weather conditions and c.
All rights to data arising from the project will be the property of DCMS, unless the data (for instance, geographical information and buildings data) are already owned elsewhere. It is expected that the data arising from the project will be made available to the industry. It is intended that the tool and associated coding resulting from the project will be available on an Open source basis.
1. Confirmation of which geo-spatial data are important to deciding on the best siting of infrastructure for 5G deployment at frequencies exceeding 6GHz.
3. A demonstration of how the data identified in 1 can be used, in conjunction with one or more models of radio propagation, to determine the best sites for 5G infrastructure in a suitable area of the UK.
4. An interactive demonstration tool using the data gathered from the trial to enable tests to be conducted of the utility of the tool. Subject to any necessary confidentiality agreements, DCMS may ask external experts to perform this assessment.
5. A report setting out the learning gained from the project, including the scale of the challenge for 5G network deployment and evidence of the benefits the tool could deliver for operational 5G deployment. This should include an estimate of the cost savings that could result in using the tool for the deployment of 5G infrastructure.