SoftBank Achieves Spectrum Sharing Between HAPS and Terrestrial Base Stations

SoftBank Conducts Field Trial for Spectrum Sharing Between HAPS and Terrestrial Base Stations
SoftBank announced that in April 2024, it successfully conducted a field trial using its cylindrical antenna for High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS) stratospheric-based wireless communication systems at Hokkaido Spaceport, Taiki Town, in Hokkaido, Japan. The trial successfully demonstrated the use of nullforming technology to achieve spectrum sharing between HAPS and a terrestrial base station, SoftBank said on Wednesday.

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SoftBank’s R&D Initiatives

SoftBank said this field trial was conducted as part of its R&D initiatives to enhance communication technologies used with HAPS. The company is conducting R&D on spectrum sharing to enable the deployment of communication services that use the same frequency for both HAPS and terrestrial base stations.

To effectively use finite spectrum resources, SoftBank is considering the use of cylindrical antennas as antennas for “service links,” which handle data transmission and reception between HAPS and communication devices. The company is also developing nullforming technology, which significantly suppresses radiowave emissions in specified directions to reduce interference.

By preventing interference, it is possible to achieve spectrum sharing between HAPS and terrestrial base stations, thereby utilising the spectrum effectively, SoftBank said.

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Use of Cylindrical Antennas and Nullforming Technology

In this field trial, SoftBank placed a terrestrial base station within the communication area of a high-altitude tethered aerostat equipped with a cylindrical antenna (airborne base station).

Mobile Device A was placed within the communication area of the airborne base station while Mobile Device B was positioned in a geographically close location within the communication area of the terrestrial base station.