Enterprise customers using 3.55-3.7 GHz CBRS spectrum for private and shared LTE/5G networks in coastal areas, where the navy has prioritised incumbent usage of the band, will be protected from service interruptions going forward. US spectrum access specialist Federated Wireless said the improvements to CBRS sharing relate to overlapping usage by the US Department of Defense, specifically.
CBRS users will experience “at least 60 percent and potentially as much as 80 percent improvement in spectrum availability in these areas”, said Federated Wireless, which claims 350-odd customers for its cloud-based spectrum access system (SAS). It implied it has personally “advanced… the enhancements” via collaborations with industry and government agencies, including NTIA, DoD, and the FCC on the improvements. CBRS performance will be “on par with licensed spectrum” (which is “many times more costly”), it said.
Becky Bobzien-Simms, chief revenue officer at Federated Wireless, said: “We’ve listened to our customers and partners, and the universal feedback is that they demand more from the CBRS band. [They] are ready to invest further in CBRS deployments but need spectrum that is stable, efficient, and economical to use.”
Kurt Schaubach, chief technology officer at Federated Wireless, said: “We see this new set of CBRS enhancements as a milestone in the maturity of spectrum sharing. These improvements are possible because of the confidence and trust that Federated has built since the commercial launch of CBRS almost five years ago.”
He went on: “Our track record of zero incidents of harmful interference to critical DoD operations paves the way for improving how a wide range of new users gain access to essential mid-band spectrum while ensuring that federal incumbents continue to be fully protected. These enhancements are part of our commitment to advancing spectrum management capabilities.”
Last month, Federated Wireless launched a premium CBRS service for high-end workloads on private 4G and 5G networks in shared spectrum. The new service, called Premium Enterprise Grade Spectrum (PEGS), offers faster response times, tailored KPI-based monitoring, dedicated technical support, and other “novel features”, it said.
The PEGS offer “elevates CBRS to mission-critical reliability levels”, it suggested. It is the result of “algorithmic improvements” to its SAS, it said. The firm also launched an Automated Frequency Coordination (AFC) service to extend its SAS platform to the 6 GHz band, and expanded its Environmental Sensing Capability (ESC) to support CBRS access in all 50 US states, including now in Hawaii, plus in US territories in Guam, Saipan, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands.
