Latest from Next TV in Citizens-band-radio-service

FCC’s CBRS Auction Inches Up

john.eggerton@futurenet.com (John Eggerton) — Wed, 19 Aug 2020 19:46:00 +0000

The Federal Communications Commission's Citizens Band Radio Spectrum (CBRS) auction has been inching up over the last few rounds, increasing by only a few million dollars per round.

After round 58, gross auction proceeds were $4,519,282,603 after 58 rounds, up only about $13.5 million from the $4,505,734,069 in round 57.

Counties with demand for spectrum greater than supply was down to 49 from 60 the previous round.

Pre-auction estimates ranged from about $2 billion to as much as $10 billion.

The FCC continues to hold four one-hour rounds per day, but it could decrease the time in rounds or increase the frequency or take some other steps to speed the conclusion of the auction.

The FCC is auctioning 70 MHz worth of county-based Priority Access Licenses (PALs) — a whopping 22,631 of them in the 3550-3650 MHz 93.5 GHz band. That is the most-ever flexible use licenses mae available in a single auction, the FCC said. Each license will be a 10 MHz unpaired channel.

The FCC set a reserve price on the spectrum at $107,991,840, which was met in round one.

Verizon Touts CBRS Trial on Live Network

Jeff Baumgartner — Tue, 15 May 2018 18:31:17 +0000

Verizon said it teamed with a mix of vendor partners on a successful trial in Florida that tested LTE technology running on a swath of CBRS (Citizens Broadband Radio Service) spectrum on Verizon’s live commercial network.

That live trial follows a batch of trials last year and ongoing CBRS-facing work in Verizon’s lab in Texas.

The latest “real world” trial involved a set of suppliers, including Ericsson, Qualcomm Technologies, and Federated Wireless, a company that is developing a platform that enables partners to run services in the emerging, shared CBRS band without interfering with incumbent users.

CBRS, a 150 MHz-wide batch of spectrum in the range of 3.55 GHz to 3.7 GHz, is being eyed for a wide range of use cases that will eventually utilize licensed and unlicensed portions alongside incumbents. Cable operators are eyeing CBRS as a way to offload some of their mobile traffic and reduce MVNO-related costs. CBRS will also be used to nail up private LTE networks and to bring more capacity to mobile and wireless service providers.

Verizon said the trial deployment in Florida used a combination of Verizon licensed AWS and 700 MHz spectrum aggregated with 50 MHz of CBRS band 48 spectrum, and involved both outdoor and in-building systems.

Ericsson provided its Radio DOT system for indoor and Radio 2208 for outdoor, Qualcomm Technologies supplied its Snapdragon 845 mobile test device with X20 LTE for access to CBRS on mobile devices (devices that can access the CBRS band are expected to arrive next year), and Federated Wireless provided the prioritization through its Spectrum Controller. Ericsson also provided the domain proxy to enable radios to communicate with Federated Wireless’s Spectrum Controller.

“As more people use more wireless devices to do more things in more places, building a network to stay ahead of customer demand is crucial,” Mike Haberman, VP of network engineering for Verizon, said in a statement.” “This shared spectrum resource is a critical component of our strategy to add capacity to our network.”

Altice USA Eyes CBRS Small Cell Strategy

Jeff Baumgartner — Fri, 11 May 2018 19:06:32 +0000

Add Altice USA to a growing list of U.S. cable operators that are eager to kick the tires on the financial and technical viability of small cell networks that utilize the emerging CBRS (Citizens Band Radio Service) shared spectrum band.

Altice USA last month issued an RFI (request for information) on CBRS small cell products as well as an RFP (request for proposal) for a multi-phase trial, Multichannel News has learned.

Charter Communications and Comcast are among other U.S. cable operators that are testing the mettle of mobile and wireless systems that utilize CBRS, a 150 MHz-wide batch of spectrum in the range of 3.55 GHz to 3.7 GHz that has been underutilized and will be allocated for incumbent users (for U.S. Navy flight operations, for example) and for new licensed and unlicensed use.

Tied into its CBRS-facing efforts, Altice USA is contemplating building a cellular network and exploring the financial feasibility of building a small cell network.

That work is entering the mix as Altice USA moves ahead on the development of a mobile product that will leverage a “full” MVNO agreement with Sprint. Altice USA expected to launch its mobile product in the first quarter of 2019.

As it is with Comcast and Charter, who have MVNO deals with Verizon Wireless, Altice USA’s interest in CBRS centers on helping the operator offset what could be significant roaming payments to mobile network operators once its own mobile offering begins to scale up.

Per information about Altice’s plan reviewed by Multichannel News, Altice USA believes it is well positioned to build a small network in part to its access to low-cost sites and a workforce that could be trained to install and maintain the new small cell network.

As for the trials, Altice USA expects the first phase to focus on the verification of its RF propagation modelling in the field, with future field trials to test LTE-based services.

Altice is seeking two vendors for the field trials, and those selected will become candidates for a possible full build out.

Per the project timelines reviewed by Multichannel News, RFI and RFP responses were due by the end of April, and Altice USA expects to complete its vendor selections by May 15, and start phase 1 trials by June, and phase 2 by early August.

Altice USA isn’t commenting on its plans involving CBRS, but stressed that the company is pleased with the progress it’s made concerning its mobile plans.

On Wednesday (May 9) during Altice USA’s Q1 call, company chairman and CEO Dexter Goei did offer an update on the company’s activities with Sprint, noting that the effort is ahead of schedule.

He said core network development has begun via investing into Altice USA’s WiFi network (to help with data offload) and IT platforms. Altice USA, he added, is “connecting to Sprint's microsites to support Sprint's network specification, which will benefit Altice USA's MVNO service.”

He also said the proposed merger between T-Mobile and Sprint would be good for Altice USA’s mobile prospects.

“I think we would benefit from the roaming agreement that Sprint has with T-Mo irrespective of the closing of the transaction,” he said. “So I think it is business as usual, but expectation's that, if anything, it will be net positive.”

CBRS Band, Cert Program Branded as ‘OnGo’

Jeff Baumgartner — Tue, 08 May 2018 13:58:03 +0000

Reflecting the mobile aspects of the emerging shared Citizens Band Radio Service (CBRS) band, the CBRS Alliance has introduced “OnGo” as the brand for the LTE-based swath of spectrum as well as the product ecosystem’s certification program.

The CBRS Alliance introduced OnGo in concert with the group’s annual member’s meeting in Washington, D.C.

The OnGo brand and cert program will center on a 150 MHz-wide batch of spectrum in the range of 3.55 GHz to 3.7 GHz that has been underutilized. Its use has been limited to the U.S. Navy for flight operations for aircraft carriers along with some satellite uplinks, but a portion of it will also be allocated for licensed (Priority Access Licenses) and unlicensed use (general authorized access). A new class of spectrum allocation servers will ensure that new users in the band don’t interfere with incumbent users.

Cable operators such as Comcast and Charter Communications eyeing the CBRS/OnGo band for wireless and mobile services as a way to offset some of the costs they incur from MVNO agreements that partly are underpinning their new mobile services.

Chris Stark, a board member of the CBRS Alliance and exec with Nokia, said the OnGo brand is being launched as the Alliance looks to diversify its membership and reach out to adjacent industries.

Part of the aim, he said, is to use a brand tied to the CBRS opportunity to new verticals in a way that’s a bit less techy while also spelling out other benefits of the emerging spectrum band.

The CBRS Alliance released two specs aimed at product interoperability last month.

The certification program for CBRS-facing products will also use the OnGo brand to identify equipment that passes the test. In addition to interoperability, the specs also align with WInnForum standards and are designed to ensure all products that earn OnGo Certification also receive simultaneous FCC Certification, the group said.

Certification will take place at more than ten authorized test labs around the world in the early going. The CBRS Alliance has not announced certification test pricing or listed out locations of those authorized lab sites.

The CBRS Alliance counts members such as AT&T, Verizon, Comcast, Arris/Ruckus Networks, Google, CableLabs, and Charter Communications.

RELATED: Ruckus Gears Up for CBRS Band

CBRS Alliance Specs Target Interoperability

Jeff Baumgartner — Fri, 20 Apr 2018 14:27:08 +0000

The CBRS Alliance has released two specifications that aim to drive interoperability for devices that support the 3.5 GHz Citizens Band Radio Service, a shared swath of spectrum that cable operators are eyeing for wireless and mobile services.

The Network and Coexistence Baseline Specs are focused on interoperability of CBRS Alliance-certified devices that tap into that band and lean on LTE-based technologies. The CBRS Alliance, which counts AT&T, Verizon, Comcast, Arris, Google, CableLabs, and Charter Communications among its members, is evangelizing LTE-based solutions in the CBRS band on the belief that it will help to ensure product interoperability.

RELATED: Ruckus Gears Up for CBRS Band

On that point, the CBRS Alliance noted that the Baseline specs aim to enable the deployment and coexistence of LTE Private Networks, LTE Neutral Host Networks or a Hybrid (Private and Neutral Hosted Network) in the 3.5 GHz band using Standard 3GPP LTE technology. They also align with WInnForum Baseline specs, the group said.

The CBRS band, a 150 MHz-wide batch of spectrum in the range of 3.55 GHz to 3.7 GHz, has been underutilized, with most of it used today by the U.S. Navy for flight operations for aircraft carriers, along with some satellite uplinks. In addition to supporting incumbent users, the spectrum will also be allocated for licensed (Priority Access Licenses) and unlicensed use (general authorized access).

That scenario is setting up a new market for spectrum allocation servers and platforms that ensure that new users in the band don’t interfere with incumbent users.

CBRS is particularly attractive to cable operators because the spectrum can be used complement their mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) agreements, enabling them to offset some of the network costs associated with new mobile services. Comcast and Charter are among U.S. MSOs that are conducting tests.

“The networking and coexistence specifications are the critical foundation the industry needs to ensure seamless interoperability between CBRS Alliance-certified Citizens Broadband Radio Service Devices (CBSDs) when operating in CBRS,” Dave Wright, president of the CBRS Alliance and director, regulatory affairs & network standards at Ruckus Networks, aid in a statement. “2018 is expected to be a marquee year for CBRS, and we are particularly proud to kick it off with this significant technical achievement.”

“The coexistence specification ensures LTE systems in adjacent channels within the band can operate without the need for guard bands, making use of the spectrum much more efficient,” added Al Jette, chair of the Technical Working Group for the CBRS Alliance and head of North American standards at Nokia.

Last week, representatives of NCTA-The Internet & Television Association and some top members met with FCC officials to pitch county-sized licenses for 3.5 GHz services as a compromise between census tracts and PEAs (partial economic areas).

They also raised concerns about Qualcomm's emission limit changes--to facilitate channel bonding--which the cable/broadband operators suggest could cause harmful interference to adjacent C-band incumbents and could “disproportionately disadvantage" lower-power CBRS users.

--John Eggerton contributed to this story