1. The need for a greater spatial resolution in the spectrum monitoring, due to the fact that communications, especially those of high frequencies area coverage, are increasingly reusing spectrum and channel, with a high density of radio transmitters. This forces any monitoring system to provide spectrum probes, installed in large quantities and in a tight space matrix, while maintaining the system costs (probe prices) compatible with the budgets of regulatory and supervisory authorities.

2. The collected measurements constitute a record that must be stored in a centralized database, with the necessary features of: classification, data processing, research, graphs, statistics and alerts; that allow the regulator/supervisor to have an effective intelligence over the collected data, extracting and classifying the events considered as relevant and supporting all the processes of licensing, inspection, forecast of new standards adoption, informing citizens and perhaps the scientific community that is engaged in propagation studies and other subjects, for which the huge collection of data on spectrum monitoring (particularly with high spatial resolution) is a valuable source of data in its studies.

3. The communication of the parameters/measurements collected by the probes to the centralized database should be easy, economic and safe, with the Internet being the natural means to establish such communication, as long as the security mechanisms of the data exchange are guaranteed.

4. Since the system is intended to be based on a large number of probes, the remote management of these devices for operational purposes, support and maintenance must be guaranteed in a simple and fluid manner.

5. The measured band should be as wide as possible, covering the bands from 70MHz to 6GHz (VHF, UHF and microwave), since it is in these bands that the greatest number of relevant facts in wireless emissions occurs, and where the high spatial resolution monitoring network has an advantage (particularly in the higher bands) by identifying and measuring emissions that greatly attenuate with distance, making it impossible to monitor them in a way other than in proximity.

6. Probes should be easy to install in a wide range of scenarios: urban, semi-urban or rural. According to a monolithic installation logic, not dependent on the existence of electricity from the public distribution network and with characteristics that minimize acts of vandalism or theft.

The name Widemonitor is thus very revealing of the system’s logic, because it is intended: wide band monitoring and monitoring with a wide range of probes that guarantees the spatial resolution in large territories, through low cost probes, suitable to be “planted” in any location.

The challenge regarding the centralized service is also very big, for several factors identified early on:

• Multi-tenant system
• High availability guarantees
• Capacity to handle large volumes of data
• Ability to statistically process the collected data
• Provide data analysis and visualization features