Ericsson said Monday it hit a data rate of 1 Gbps in a 5G stand-alone network field trial, setting a data speed record with citizens broadband radio service spectrum in an indoor environment. “Conducted at Ericsson’s North American headquarters in Plano, Texas, and coordinated by the OnGo Alliance, this trial was supported by Ericsson’s 5G Distributed Innovation Network and harnessed Radio 4408 for outdoor CBRS connectivity and the Radio Dot 4459 for indoor CBRS connectivity,” Ericsson said: “In addition to record-setting speed, the trial also resulted in seamless outdoor-to-indoor connectivity transitions, paving the way for benefits to consumers and enterprises alike.”
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.
A White House official called for more predictability in how spectrum decisions are made, at a Silicon Flatirons spectrum conference Friday. Austin Bonner, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy assistant director-spectrum and telecom policy, said she has had meetings with “dozens” of spectrum stakeholders about how policy could change. The administration is moving toward release of a national spectrum strategy, which the Trump administration promised but never delivered (see 2209190061).
The NFL asked the FCC to approve its proposed waiver extension of rules for the citizens broadband radio service allowing the league to continue operating a coach-to-coach communications systems in the event of a localized internet outage in stadiums during games. The league noted only NCTA filed comments and supported the extension (see 2207120055). “Before seeking an extension … the NFL engineering team conducted extensive due diligence to see if an alternative approach was available, but after considering many options and consulting with both vendors and staff, the League concluded that a waiver was necessary for these very limited circumstances since a technology ‘work around’ was not available,” said a filing posted Monday in docket 21-111.
NCTA supported an NFL request for a waiver of rules for the citizens broadband radio service allowing the league to continue operating a coach-to-coach communications systems in the event of a localized internet outage in stadiums during games. Any relief granted “should continue to be narrowly tailored to the NFL’s specific and unique circumstances to avoid creating a de facto exemption from the Spectrum Access System connectivity requirement” for CBRS operations “at special events, including sporting events,” said a filing by the group posted Tuesday in docket 22-111. Comments on the request were due Monday (see 2206300037).
The FCC’s newly reconstituted Technology Advisory Council met for the second time Thursday, dedicated to exploring 6G, as directed by FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. She and TAC members said 5G is still in early stages, but it’s not too early to focus on the next generation of wireless. TAC heard updates from its working groups on the work they have done so far during a virtual meeting.
Dish Network's mobile 5G network is up and running in Las Vegas, albeit with mixed results, and the company will easily meet its June goal of reaching 20% of the U.S. population, executives said Thursday, announcing its 2021 year-end results. "When it works, it works pretty well," Chairman Charlie Ergen said. He said network optimization and working with handset manufacturers to ensure Dish frequencies are in their hardware are still to be done before broad commercial launch, plus fixing of some regulatory issues like Enhanced 911 access.
Dish Network said Thursday it’s working with FreedomFi on what it calls the “world's first community-driven” neutral host 5G hotspot network, using citizens broadband radio service spectrum. “This collaboration furthers DISH's position that the next generation of wireless networks can be cloud-native open source platforms, leveraging” open radio access network technology, Dish said. FreedomFi, meanwhile, said it's making available a consumer-deployable cellular base station, which uses CBRS spectrum.
Dell’Oro Group dialed down a near-term forecast for citizens broadband radio service investments in 5G deployments Tuesday, projecting $500 million to $1 billion in 2020-25. The adjustments “reflect slower than expected year-to-date LTE CBRS base station adoption,” said Vice President Stefan Pongratz: But “activity is on the rise with interesting use cases forming around multiple verticals, adding confidence enterprise and private deployments will comprise a greater share of the overall CBRS market over time.”
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.