International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 18-21, 2004 / Town & Country Resort, San Diego, California / One approach to improving spectrum usage efficiency is to manage the scheduling of frequencies more effectively. The use of metrics to analyze frequency scheduling could aid frequency managers in a variety of ways. However, the basic question of what is a good metric for representing and analyzing spectral usage remains unanswered. Some metrics capture spectral occupancy. This paper introduces metrics that change the focus from occupancy to availability. Just because spectrum is not in use does not mean it is available for use. A significant factor in creating unused but unusable spectrum is fragmentation. A mission profile for spectrum usage can be considered a rectangle in a standard time versus frequency grid. Even intelligent placement of these rectangles (i.e., the scheduling of a missions spectrum usage) can not always utilize all portions of the spectrum. The average typical mission availability (ATMA) metric provides a way of numerically answering the question: Could we have scheduled another typical mission? This is a much more practical question than: Did we occupy the entire spectrum? If another mission couldn’t have been scheduled, then the entire spectrum was effectively used, even if the entire spectrum wasn’t occupied.

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 23-26, 2000 / Town & Country Hotel and Conference Center, San Diego, California / Automatic spectrum management and monitoring systems are very useful to manage frequencies at test ranges and assure interference-free transmission of telemetry signals. Spectrum management systems assign telemetry frequencies using database information on available and occupied channels and analysis tools which can determine whether a data link will support telemetry. Modern, DSP-based spectrum monitoring systems, in fixed or mobile configurations, automate the process of performing spectrum occupancy to verify clear channels and identify and locate sources of interference; they are integrated with and utilize the management system database. Such systems are important to assure reliable communications channels for telemetry.