A proposed revision to Industry Canada's Standard Radio System Plan 301.7

Industry Canada's Standard Radio System Plan (SRSP) 301.7 is a regulatory document that specifies the minimum technical requirements for fixed point-to-point and point-to-multipoint radio systems used for the management of the electricity supply in Canada. Like similar specifications produced by other regulators around the world, SRSP 301.7 requires that terminal station (TS) antennas be directional in order to reduce co-channel interference, e.g., with a gain that shall be at least 12 dBi, a 3dB beam width that shall not exceed 30° in vertical and horizontal polarizations. Many in the electrical power industry have expressed strong interest in relaxing the restrictions on TS antenna patterns imposed by SRSP 301.7 and permitting the use of omnidirectional antennas when such systems operate in macrocell non-line-of-sight environments. However, Industry Canada has indicated that results of a formal research study of the outcomes and consequences must be produced before such a revision can be considered.