Representatives of Federated Wireless and Charter Communications met with an aide to FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks to discuss “the benefits of spectrum sharing,” said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 17-258. The citizens broadband radio service spectrum sharing model “facilitates the growth of mobile competition and has enabled new entrants into the market, many of whom are using the band to develop their own private networks for uses such as industrial automation, artificial intelligence, and predictive maintenance, in environments ranging from warehouses, ports, factories, airports, and office buildings, in rural as well as densely populated areas, supporting supply chain efficiency,” the companies said. CTIA raised questions whether the CBRS sharing model is a viable alternative to exclusive-use licensed spectrum (see 2212120050).
CBRS
The Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) is designated unlicensed spectrum in the 3.5 GHz band created by the FCC as part of an effort to allow for shared federal and non-federal use of the band.
The FCC approved new environmental sensing capability sensor deployment and coverage plans in the citizens broadband radio service band for Federated Wireless, in parts of Alaska. The order, by the Wireless Bureau and Office of Engineering and Technology, was posted Tuesday in docket 15-319.
Federated Wireless defended advanced sharing technologies in a meeting with FCC International Bureau staff. Federated offered “an overview of the successes of the Citizens Broadband Radio Service spectrum sharing model, including its effective protection of different types of incumbent systems as well as the innovation and competition it has stimulated and the new entrants it has brought to the market,” said a filing Thursday in docket 19-348. New entrants “are using the band to develop their own private networks for uses such as industrial automation, smart inventory management, and predictive maintenance, in environments ranging from warehouses, factories, farms, school campuses, and office buildings, in rural as well as densely populated areas,” Federated said. CTIA raised questions about CBRS as the optimal model for spectrum allocation, saying it’s inferior to exclusive use licensing and questioning how successful the CBRS experiment has been (see 2212120050). In less than three years, “nearly 300,000 CBRS devices have been deployed nationwide, a record number of users have adopted CBRS spectrum (228 Priority Access Licensees and 900 General Authorized Access users), and a large ecosystem of U.S. equipment suppliers and vendors has emerged,” Federated said.
The FCC Wireless Bureau reminded part 90, subpart Z wireless broadband licensees in the 3650-3700 MHz band they must leave the band by Jan. 8. In a 2015 order, “the Commission included the 3650-3700 MHz band in the Citizens Broadband Radio Service,” the bureau said Wednesday: “The Commission recognized the investment of the over 2,000 part 90 incumbent licensees using the band on a non-exclusive basis and thus also provided for a transition period for these licensees.” Grandfathered wireless broadband licensees had at least five years to “transition operations from part 90 to part 96, or to discontinue operations,” the notice said.
The competitive threats to cable's broadband business are overstated, and cable's wireless growth opportunities remain undervalued, MoffettNathanson's Craig Moffett wrote investors Monday. Rather than market share loss, the big driver of the recent slowdown in cable broadband net adds is likely due to market saturation, he said. Rather than the recent competition from fixed wireless, the big longer-term competitive threat to cable is from fiber, he said. Labor shortages and rising installation costs will moderate some fiber overbuilding, he said. Pessimism about the profitability of cable-offered wireless service ignores the opportunity cable has via offloading data traffic onto its own network, he said. Offloading onto Wi-fi "is but a warm-up for the coming main event, which is offload on CBRS small cells," he said.
University of Utah and Federated Wireless representatives spoke with FCC Wireless Bureau staff on the school’s pursuit of an FCC waiver of citizens broadband radio service rules for its POWDER (Platform for Open Wireless Data-driven Experimental Research) platform, used for wireless research. The proposal has been controversial (see 2207190047). “The meeting participants discussed the application of Commission rules and equipment certification to the University’s POWDER platform,” said a filing Tuesday in docket 22-257. “The University provided additional information regarding the architecture of its platform, the platform’s security protocols, and its monitoring capability,” the filing said: “Commission staff raised questions regarding the platform’s software-defined radios and whether their dynamic nature would necessitate waiver of Section 96.39(g) of the Commission’s rules.”
Industry companies and groups disagreed sharply on the best way for the FCC to open the 12.7 GHz band for other users, and whether it should be offered for exclusive-use licenses or be the next big sharing band. Band incumbents urged caution. Comments were due Monday and posted Tuesday in docket 22-352. The FCC approved a notice of inquiry in October on what others call the 13 GHz band (see 2210270046).
CTIA clarified its stance on the citizens broadband radio service band, in a letter Monday to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson, noting the group supports CBRS in general, though it’s “premature to expand the experimental CBRS sharing mechanism.” A CTIA study last month argued the CBRS model isn’t a substitute for exclusive-use licensing (see 2211140062). “Some parties have called on the Administration and the FCC to focus future spectrum access on the experimental CBRS sharing framework used in the 3.5 GHz band,” the letter said: “To be clear, the wireless industry is not, as some CBRS proponents claim, arguing that all spectrum must be exclusive-use licensed spectrum. We support innovative uses of spectrum where it is appropriate and makes sense given technical and operational constraints.” CTIA said it “filled a void to act as the certifying body for CBRS devices to help with initial commercialization, and was prepared to act as a sharing database administrator because of an initial lack of interest and options,” the group said. “At the same time, we believe future spectrum policy in the United States should not default to complex spectrum sharing regimes, and the weight of the evidence continues to show that smart domestic spectrum policy should be built upon robust access to exclusive-use, licensed spectrum particularly given the significant deficit today.”
FCC and NTIA officials defended the citizens broadband radio service band as potentially offering a model for future sharing, during an FCBA spectrum pipeline forum Monday. Last week, CTIA questioned whether CBRS, often cited as the potential sharing model of the future, is a suitable replacement for exclusive, licensed spectrum (see 2211140062). CBRS advocates have fired back.
Federated Wireless and Charter Communications representatives highlighted the benefits of spectrum sharing and the model offered by the citizens broadband radio service band, in a meeting with FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington. The CBRS model “facilitates the growth of mobile competition and has enabled new entrants into the market, many of whom are using the band to develop their own private networks for uses such as industrial automation, artificial intelligence, and predictive maintenance,” said a filing posted Thursday in docket 17-258. CBRS is used “in environments ranging from warehouses, ports, factories, airports, and office buildings, in rural as well as densely populated areas, supporting supply chain efficiency."