The FCC conditionally approved Fairspectrum, Nokia and Red Technologies as spectrum access system administrators for the citizens broadband radio service band, said a Friday release. The three passed the first phase of a two-phase approval process. The FCC also cleared CommScope, Google, Federated Wireless and Key Bridge to be environmental sensing capability operators in the 3550-3650 MHz part of the band in Puerto Rico and Guam. Federated was approved as an SAS in American Samoa. “No matter who you are or where you live, you need access to modern communications,” said acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel: “This is true, of course, for those living in Puerto Rico, Guam, and American Samoa too.”
Google sought FCC certification as a spectrum access system administrator in the citizens broadband radio service band in American Samoa. The company also reported recent growth in the CBRS market. Base stations being served by Google’s SAS continue "to rapidly increase, especially as relaxation of pandemic restrictions begins to allow significant growth in enterprise CBRS deployments,” said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 15-319.
The FCC granted 125 priority access licenses won in the citizens broadband radio service auction and approved 13 long-form applications. Among the licenses approved Friday were those won by AtLink Services, Cherokee Telephone, Nemont Communications and SkyPacket Networks. The auction ended in August.
FreedomFi and IoT network Helium announced an agreement Tuesday to use citizens broadband radio service spectrum. With Helium, users mount a radio device on their roof, connect it to the network using an app and help create a wireless network. Under the agreement, Helium will use FreedomFi gateways, which "augment the existing capacity of macro-cell tower operators,” said CEO Boris Renski: “We’re able to use CBRS small cells in urban areas to rapidly add density to the network at no expense to the operators.”
Competitive Carriers Association representatives urged the FCC to create a new category of citizens broadband radio service devices allowed to operate at higher power levels than under current rules. “CCA’s initial analysis indicates that higher-power operations would increase the utility of the band … without increasing the risk of interference to other services,” said a filing posted Monday in docket 19-348: Higher power levels would “increase the array of use cases supported by CBRS spectrum, provide more technical and operational flexibility for users of the band, and improve wireless coverage in rural America.” CCA proposed allowing devices to operate at a maximum equivalent, isotropically radiated power of 62 dBm/10 MHz and allow user equipment to operate at 26 dBm. CCA spoke with aides to the four commissioners.
Dish Network slammed T-Mobile Thursday, telling the FCC the carrier’s opposition to higher power levels in the citizens broadband radio service band shows that after buying Sprint, the “Un-Carrier” became anti-consumer. “It is ironic that T-Mobile, with the largest spectrum trove in the United States, is against increasing the utility of CBRS licenses held by other competitors,” Dish said in docket 19-348. “No doubt they would take a different approach if they had real ownership of CBRS spectrum.” Dish slammed T-Mobile for its plans to shutter its legacy CDMA network from Sprint at year-end. “Unfortunately, a majority of our 9 million Boost subscribers (many of whom face economic challenges) have devices that rely on Sprint’s CDMA network and will be harmed if T-Mobile prematurely shuts down that network,” Dish said. T-Mobile didn’t comment.
The upcoming 3.45 GHz auction and yet-to-be-scheduled 2.5 GHz sale are likely to get broad interest from smaller carriers, industry officials said during a Competitive Carriers Association virtual conference Wednesday. They warned that holding three midband auctions in a short time poses financial issues.
Comments are due April 8, replies April 15 on the NFL’s request for waiver of citizens broadband radio service rules to use its “coach-to-coach communications systems” during an internet outage, said a public notice in Tuesday's Daily Digest on docket 21-111. The organization needs the waiver for situations when internet service goes down just before a scheduled game but after a spectrum access system administrator has granted authority to operate the NFL’s CBRS system for that game, the PN said.
A big change in the FCC 3.45 GHz auction public notice from the draft was dividing the spectrum into 10 MHz licenses, rather than 20 MHz, based on a side-by-side comparison. That means the agency will offer 4,060 new flexible-use licenses in October, twice the proposed. The order addresses complaints about the two-step emissions mask. “Some commenters have suggested that the two-step … limit we adopt here could present challenges for licensees,” the order said: “The Commission will continue to engage with NTIA and other Federal partners, as well as other stakeholders, on whether there are opportunities to relax this approach while still providing sufficient protection to incumbent users.” It's “specific to the 3.45 GHz band and we take no position on whether the two-step limit adopted here will be required to protect incumbent users in any future proceedings,” it said. The FCC stuck with deadlines of April 14 for comments, April 29 for replies. The order puts increased emphasis on opportunistic use of the spectrum, similar to what’s available in the citizens broadband radio service band: “There may be potential opportunities in the future to consider steps we might take, in cooperation with NTIA and other federal partners, to effect an overall rationalization of the non-federal services in the 3 GHz band.” Both were posted Thursday (see here and here) after being approved 4-0 Wednesday (see 2103170061).
Commissioners approved 4-0 an item that moves the agency closer to a 3.45-3.55 GHz 5G auction starting in early October. A notice proposes a standard FCC auction, similar to the C-band auction, rather than one based on sharing and rules similar to those in the citizens broadband radio service band. The draft public notice got several tweaks, as expected, including offering 10 MHz rather than 20 MHz blocks, but keeps larger partial economic area-sized licenses (see 2103150052). Commissioners Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington concurred on parts of the order because of lingering concerns.