Fixed satellite service earth station licensees qualified for protection from citizens broadband radio service have until Dec. 2 to renew their licenses so that their registration is valid in 2025, according to an FCC Wireless Bureau public notice Friday. Incomplete registrations as of Jan. 1 may be deactivated or deleted, and the earth station site won't merit protection by spectrum access system administrators, it said.
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.
Industry officials continued questioning AT&T’s Wednesday proposal that calls for major changes in how 3 GHz, including the citizens broadband radio service band, is configured (see 2410090037). Monisha Ghosh, University of Notre Dame engineering professor and former FCC chief technologist, said AT&T's proposal leaves some questions unanswered. While in principle it’s “desirable to have high-power and low-power users separated by one boundary, the AT&T proposal doesn’t address how the existing Navy radars in the CBRS band will be protected” or “relocated and how spectrum sharing in 3.1-3.45 GHz will be implemented,” Ghosh told us, noting there are now 120 different kinds of radar in the band. Ghosh warned against drawing conclusions before the administration completes its study of the lower 3 GHz band called for in the national spectrum strategy. Moreover, Ghosh disagreed with AT&T that CBRS is "underutilized.” Relocating CBRS devices into another band that’s not an existing 3rd Generation Partnership Project band wouldn’t be a “trivial” problem, she said. Meanwhile, Public Knowledge Senior Vice President Harold Feld wrote in an email, “When you have a hammer, everything looks like a nail,” and when you’re a carrier “everything looks like it should be optimized for mobile broadband.” Feld added, “CBRS was designed to permit new kinds of innovation by different actors, such as stadiums, large warehouses, ports, or enterprise customers looking to run their own private networks.”
AT&T on Wednesday called for major changes in how 3 GHz, including the citizens broadband radio service band, is configured, going beyond what the FCC proposed in an August NPRM (see 2408160031). Meanwhile, during a Broadband Breakfast webinar Wednesday, experts said the CBRS band has demonstrated the value and importance of spectrum sharing.
As Hurricane Milton approaches Florida, the FCC Wireless Bureau on Tuesday approved waivers for Federated Wireless and Google of rules that require environmental sensing capability systems to protect federal incumbents in Florida in the citizens broadband radio service band from harmful interference. The waivers are similar to those the companies received during other recent storms (see 2409260035).
The American Petroleum Institute supports rule changes for the citizens broadband radio service band to make it more usable by API members, the group said in comments on an August FCC NPRM (see 2408160031). “In many cases without the ability to build reliable wireless infrastructure, these company operations would lack the communications necessary to operate effectively,” said a filing posted Tuesday in docket 17-258: “In general, API members have seen benefits from the existing availability of CBRS spectrum and support the Commission’s endeavor to make the use more friendly to enterprise and small business usage.” The deadline for initial comments on the NPRM had been Monday, but the Wireless Bureau recently extended it to Nov. 6 (see 2409270026).
FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez, who led U.S. preparation for last year’s World Radiocommunication Conference before she was confirmed to the FCC (see 2309120074), warned that the U.S. must prepare now for WRC-27. “Overall, we did very well, but it’s complicated,” Gomez said of WRC-23. “We succeeded in maintaining the 6 GHz band as the home for unlicensed innovation,” though other countries “also claimed victory because they received designations that allow them [to] use parts of the band” for international mobile telecommunications, she said. Gomez spoke Tuesday at the Americas Spectrum Management Conference. The U.S. also won on new allocations for satellite use of the 17 GHz band, she said. “Some countries were seeking to place new restrictions on the ability of countries to authorize satellite systems to provide commercial services in frequencies that have not been allocated internationally for satellite use,” she said: “That did not happen and that is a big win for the U.S. and innovation.” She also discussed the importance of the sharing model offered by the citizens broadband radio service band, developed through “intentional collaboration” between the FCC, the NTIA and DOD. “CBRS has demonstrated that shared spectrum schemes are not only possible but successful and can scale up to incorporate developments, protect incumbents, create more access and encourage new market entrants.” Gomez also stressed the importance of Congress restoring FCC auction authority. Currently, “our agency cannot begin the lengthy preparatory work to hold an auction” and “we are even limited in how we can use staff time for auction planning.” Gomez warned of a talent drain at the commission. “Bright, talented attorneys, economists, engineers and staff that have built years of expertise in spectrum auctions are having to pivot to other work,” she said. “The robust, expert team that we developed and grew in preparation for more auctions is slimming down.”
While expectations are that 6G will be commercialized by 2030, large scale deployments will likely come later, Milap Majmundar, AT&T director-advanced radio access network technology, standards and spectrum, said Tuesday at RCR Wireless’ 6G Forum. In addition, other speakers warned that finding new licensed bands for 6G could prove difficult.
The FCC Wireless Bureau on Friday extended comment and reply deadlines by 30 days on an August NPRM that asks about further rules changes for the citizens broadband radio service band (see 2408160031). The new deadlines are Nov. 6 for initial comments, Dec. 5 for replies, in docket 17-258. The bureau took the step following a request by the Wireless Innovation Forum, the OnGo Alliance and the Wireless ISP Association (see 2409200015). “We find that Joint Petitioners have established that additional time is necessary to enable commenters to adequately assess highly technical data and to produce studies in response to the complex technical, legal, and policy issues presented in the NPRM,” the bureau said: “Given the importance of receiving robust input from all of [the groups’] respective members on the questions raised in the NPRM, along with the Commission’s stated desire for detailed technical analyses, we find there is good cause to extend the deadlines.”
In the wake of Hurricane Helene, the FCC Wireless Bureau on Thursday approved a waiver for Google of rules that require environmental sensing capability systems to protect federal incumbents in Florida in the citizens broadband radio service band from harmful interference. The bureau on Wednesday approved a similar waiver for Federated Wireless (see 2409250048).
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).