ATLANTA -- Spectrum experts at SCTE's 2024 TechExpo event Tuesday were upbeat about increased spectrum sharing but said that replicating the citizens broadband radio service (CBRS) sharing model in other bands will require better technology first. Some said that the U.S. needs a wholesale rethinking of its spectrum management approach. Also at TechExpo, CableLabs CEO Phil McKinney said the cable industry could face a labor crunch in coming years (see 2409240004).
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 Wireless Innovation Forum, the OnGo Alliance and the Wireless ISP Association jointly petitioned the FCC to delay by 30 days comment deadlines on an August NPRM asking about further changes to rules for the citizens broadband radio service band (see 2408160031). Comments are now due Oct. 7, replies Nov. 5, in docket 17-258. “The NPRM raises significant and complex issues … that warrant detailed Comments to build a robust record from those directly impacted, including over 1,200 member companies of the Joint Petitioners,” said the petition posted Friday: “Each of the Joint Petitioners concurs that additional time to write Comments would help establish a more robust record.” They note numerous groups are “working to coordinate positions among their respective members on the proposals and questions raised.”
The FCC gave the green light to extended milestone deadlines for EchoStar's 5G network buildout Friday, three days after the company filed its request (see 2409190050). EchoStar called the approval "a significant step to promote competition in the wireless market."
Samsung Electronics America representatives met with FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel about the company’s request for a waiver on a 5G base station radio that works across citizens broadband radio service and C-band spectrum (see 2309130041). “Samsung emphasized its dedication to the success of CBRS in the United States,” said a filing posted Tuesday in docket 23-93. “The proposed device -- which has been before the Commission for over two years -- would simply enable operators to deploy one radio where they would otherwise deploy two radios with substantially similar performance characteristics,” Samsung said.
In the wake of Hurricane Francine, the FCC Wireless Bureau on Friday approved Google's request for a waiver of rules that require environmental sensing capability systems to protect federal incumbents in the citizens broadband radio service band from harmful interference. Francine has weakened to a tropical depression, according to NOAA. However, “the risk of heavy rainfall and flooding will continue across large portions of the Southeast through Saturday,” the bureau said. Google’s request for a waiver was also posted Friday.
The FCC Wireless Bureau approved a waiver for Federated Wireless of rules that require environmental sensing capability systems to protect federal incumbents in the citizens broadband radio service band from harmful interference as Hurricane Francine hits the Gulf Coast. The waiver “only applies to periods where the subject ESC sensors are unable to communicate with the Federated [spectrum access system] due to a power outage or backhaul outage,” said the order in Wednesday's Daily Digest. The waiver expires either on Sept. 24 “or when commercial power and backhaul service is restored to the subject ESC sensors,” the bureau said.
As Tropical Storm Francine approaches the Gulf Coast, Federated Wireless asked the FCC for a waiver of rules that require environmental sensing capability systems to protect federal incumbents in the citizens broadband radio service band from harmful interference. The storm is expected to bring “intense winds and rainfall that could cause widespread power outages,” said a filing posted Tuesday in docket 15-319. “If such outages occur, the Impacted Systems will lose commercial power and be unable to operate normally,” Federated said.
Comments are due Oct. 7, replies Nov. 5, in docket 17-258, on an August NPRM from the FCC asking about further changes to rules for the citizens broadband radio service band, said a Friday notice in the Federal Register. The FCC adopted initial CBRS rules in 2015, launching a three-tier model for sharing 3.5 GHz spectrum, while protecting naval radars. The NPRM explores further changes (see 2408160031).
New, AI-driven technologies could offer an alternative to how spectrum sharing is done, experts said Wednesday during an RCR Wireless webinar. Panelists said AI could provide options to the citizens broadband radio service and increase dynamic sharing of government spectrum.
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged Congress Friday to reach a legislative deal allowing dynamic spectrum sharing on DOD-controlled bands. Pompeo is a Rivada Networks board member (see 2305230040). Frequencies that have military incumbent systems, most notably the 3.1-3.45 GHz band, have been a stumbling block in lawmakers’ attempts to reach a consensus on a broad spectrum legislative package (see 2408150039). Proposals “for Congress to grant sole control over critical bands to private firms, pushing the Pentagon, and their missions, aside … would be a costly mistake that would put American national security at risk,” Pompeo said in a Fox News opinion piece. “Massive amounts of military equipment, from radar to weapons systems, have already been developed and optimized specifically for the spectrum bands in question, and changing that … would take decades to complete and cost hundreds of billions of dollars.” That “unnecessarily grants our adversaries a victory and makes us less safe.” It also “discourages competition and opens the door to companies like Huawei and ZTE, the Chinese Communist Party’s state-backed spyware peddlers, to gain an even bigger share of global wireless hardware manufacturing.” Congress “needs to step up and find a solution that meets the needs of both consumers and our military, and spectrum sharing could be just such a solution.” Pompeo cited the FCC’s three-tiered model for sharing spectrum on the 3.5 GHz citizens broadband radio service band and the more recent CBRS 2.0 framework (see 2406120027) as successful models. “Shared licensing democratizes spectrum access, making it accessible to a broad array of users,” which “is critical to unlocking America’s economic potential,” Pompeo said. “The Biden administration could have moved forward with this shared framework last year, but they missed their opportunity. Predictably, it has shown no desire to tackle this problem, as its National Spectrum Strategy simply calls for more studies. This is not leadership.”