Amateur 900 MHz Spread-Spectrum Radio Design for high speed digital

This would be virtually immune to the interference from Chatham-Kent Energy smart meters on the 902 MHz band. The smart meters form a mesh network using spread spectrum that virtually wipes out all amateur uses of the entire band with constant clicks that especially damage the weak signal modes. In the US, hams have primary use of the band. In Canada, in the absence of shipborne RADAR, our secondary allocation becomes available for de facto primary usage. We are not supposed to be subjected to ISM interference from smart meters, but they were installed without consultations with local stakeholders, and they render the band useless for most purposes.

All licenced Amateur Radio Operators are reminded that 902-928 MHz is our band, and we are federally authorized to transmit signals with the expectation that unlicenced devices (smart meters) are prohibited from causing us interference. I have tried to obtain details that might allow us to co-exist, but hydro refused to reveal any information except through a costly MFIPPA application. They mistakingly believe that they are licenced to operate on 900 MHz, and they told this to Council and the media, but they are not. Smart meters are RSS-210 licence-exempt unlicenced devices that cannot cause interference.

As Hydro told me, they think that spending over $4.6 million on 32,000 devices entitles them to protection, and that other users of the band, including us, will just have to migrate somewhere else. This attitude was a surprise to Industry Canada, which stated the smart meters are unlicenced and have no protection whatsoever. They said it was extremely dangerous for Hydro to claim exclusive use of the band, since amateur radio has priority usage and there is no guarantee the smart meters will remain a permitted use. Industry Canada was very concerned that a single unlicenced user had muscled its way onto the band and monopolized it to the exclusion of everyone else.

If the smart meters continue to create illegal interference to our frequencies, Industry Canada could intervene. Unfortunately, the public wasn't notified that these meters were using 902 MHz until after they stealthily installed them all. (They told council that consultations were performed with local users, but they never talked to anyone.) The worst part isn't that our licenced frequencies are rendered unusable, but that they spent over $4.6 million of our tax dollars on this ill-advised scheme that has no long-term life expectancy. In the meantime, we should document all interference we experience.

A further article is located at www.maplecitystar.ca/archive.php?article=20070704-smartmeters.html, and a technical overview of the problem is at www.ve3ncq.ca/reframe.php?page=smartmeters.html.