NCTA Slams Airspan Request for Multiband Radio Waiver
NCTA opposed Airspan Networks’ request last month for a waiver allowing it to manufacture a multiband radio device that operates across the citizens broadband radio service (CBRS) and C bands. “The FCC has seen deep interest by wireless providers in deployment of 5G service in both the 3450 MHz and the 3700 MHz bands, and there is an ongoing, recognized and growing need for base station manufacturers to support operations in these bands cost-effectively,” Airspan said in its request.
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The waiver would “degrade the CBRS operating environment, reduce the band’s utility for connecting consumers, undermine investment, and impair existing CBRS licenses,” NCTA charged in a filing posted Tuesday. Although Airspan frames the request as similar to waivers previously granted to Samsung and Ericsson, “this petition is much broader than those companies’ requests,” NCTA said. “No previous request for a dual-band or multi-band radio in the 3 GHz band has asked the Commission to allow a company to exceed [out-of-band emission] limits where the radio is operating in standalone mode in a single band in the field.”