The International Telecommunication Union's radiocommunication sector (ITU-R) has revised its radio monitoring handbook for the first time in 16 years. The revision includes content on AI-based radio monitoring technology in which South Korea took a leading role.

The National Radio Research Agency said on Oct. 26 the revised edition of the ITU-R radio monitoring handbook was published on Oct. 22. The revision was pursued to reflect changes in the radio environment since the 2010 edition and incorporate the latest technologies.

The radio monitoring handbook is an ITU-R practical reference that summarises basic concepts, measurement technologies, operational methods and application cases for radio monitoring. Radio monitoring agencies in each country use it to understand radio usage and respond to interference or illegal and unauthorised signals.

The revised edition expands its scope beyond existing radio-related equipment and measurement technologies to data processing and analysis, system linkage and automated operations. It also specifies intelligent monitoring technologies and operational procedures to respond to an increasingly complex radio environment.

South Korea served as the rapporteur responsible for Section 4.5, "Process and analysis," which covers AI-based radio monitoring. Byung-chan Kim (김병찬) and Kang-hee Kim (김강희), senior researchers at the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), worked in the field and contributed to systematising signal processing and structuring, and AI-based analysis procedures.

The National Radio Research Agency also supported the revision work through the Korea ITU Research Committee and an internal research group. This reflected domestic AI-based radio monitoring technologies and operational experience in international guidelines.

This revision work was overseen by Working Party 1C (WP1C) under Study Group 1 (SG1) in the ITU-R spectrum management field. After the need for revision was raised in 2019, the handbook was finally approved at SG1 in June this year following discussions among member states and the drafting and review of chapter-by-chapter drafts.

Choi Jun-ho (최준호), head of the National Radio Research Agency, said, "The revised handbook specified the direction of data processing, intelligent analysis and automation for radio monitoring." He said, "We will review the potential for domestic application and continue international cooperation and technology sharing."