Robust Sensing of DVB-T Signals

Following the recent Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) decision to allow unlicensed use of the television white spaces (TVWS) in the US on a secondary basis, other regulatory agencies such as Office of communications (Ofcom) will follow suit as well. Since the incumbent television signals in UK, Europe and many other countries follow the DVB-T standard, there is a need for sensing algorithms that are capable of detecting these signals at very low levels (-114 dBm). In this paper we describe sensing algorithms for extremely robust sensing of DVB-T signals. We present simulation results as well as results from the lab and field tests using real over-the-air signals to verify the algorithms.