CBRS

Nokia demonstrated its prowess in the 3.5 GHz citizens broadband radio service band last week at the FCC, the company said in a filing in docket 15-319. Nokia is the “only company developing an end-to-end solution,” it said. It alone has “a fully virtualized, cloud-based, scalable Spectrum Access System (SAS), a Domain Proxy, an Environmental Sensing Capability and Citizens Broadband Radio Service Devices (CBSDs),” Nokia said. Nokia officials said they met with aides to all the commissioners, except Chairman Ajit Pai, and with staff from the Wireless Bureau and Office of Engineering and Technology. “Nokia highlighted its advanced product development by demonstrating over-the-air live transmissions from CBSD small cells authorized by the Nokia SAS and the ease with which End User Devices could connect to the Nokia network and seamlessly access rich video content.” Nokia said it also demonstrated the technology at NTIA.

Electric utilities urged the FCC to keep census-tract sized geographic licenses for priority access licenses (PALs) in the 3.5 GHz shared band. The Edison Electric Institute reported on a meeting between members and Commissioner Mike O'Rielly, overseeing the FCC’s look at changing the rules for the citizens broadband radio service band. If the FCC approves larger PALs, utilities and other critical industry companies won’t be able to compete with wireless carriers for the licenses, EEI said in docket 17-258. “The industry is investing approximately $100 billion per year on building new infrastructure,” EEI said. “Much of this investment is targeted at deployment of the Smart Grid/Energy loT. Not only will this help improve grid safety, reliability and security, it will also facilitate the offering of new services related to Smart Communities, microgrids, electric vehicles and a host of other new consumer services. The current spectrum that electric utilities have is not sufficient to meet the growing capacity requirements.” General Electric recently stressed keeping the current license sizes (see 1802140055).

General Electric executives said they spoke with Rachael Bender, aide to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, on why the FCC should keep census tract-sized licenses in the 3.5 GHz citizens broadband radio service band. GE has been a leading proponent of keeping the current license sizes, citing the importance to the industrial IoT (see 1802140055). “Spectrum is an essential input for myriad activities around the United States that generate important economic, social, safety, and other public interest benefits,” said a filing in docket 17-258. “GE, its industrial and critical-infrastructure customers, and other diverse users will make intensive use of their licensed spectrum with targeted, localized wireless network deployments that will generate a wave of new cutting-edge jobs and economic growth in a mix of urban, suburban, rural, and remote areas.”

CTIA urged the FCC to act “quickly” to modify the priority access license rules for the 3.5 GHz citizens broadband radio service band. The most important changes are auctioning PALs for a 10-year term with an expectation of renewal and in sizes larger than census tracts, CTIA said in meetings with aides to Commissioners Mike O’Rielly and Brendan Carr. Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile officials were also there. The changes would give licensees “greater certainty and encourage investment,” CTIA said in docket 17-258. “Making these targeted reforms to the CBRS framework will help unlock the benefits that 5G will bring to the U.S. economy -- benefits that were not foreseen when this proceeding was originally undertaken -- by providing faster speeds and additional bandwidth needed to support the Internet of Things.”

The FCC tentatively approved the first environmental sensing capability (ESC) operators for the 3.5 GHz citizens broadband radio service band, moving launch of the CBRS sharing band another step closer to reality. The ESC operators allow sharing in coastal areas, protecting Navy radars. The four are: CommScope, Federated Wireless, Google and Key Bridge Wireless. All must now submit their systems for testing before final certification, the FCC said. “The ESC operators will manage a sensor system designed to detect the presence of federal incumbent radar transmissions in the 3550-3650 MHz portion of the 3.5 GHz Band and communicate that information to one or more Spectrum Access Systems (SAS) in accordance with the Commission’s rules,” said the notice by the Office of Engineering and Technology and the Wireless Bureau. “The ESC will enable more dynamic sharing between federal and non-federal users in the band, particularly in coastal areas.” Commissioner Mike O’Rielly last week said approval of the operators was imminent (see 1802130041). “Today’s important step gets us closer to permitting 3.5 GHz use in coastal areas where a huge population of Americans live and attracting necessary investment for equipment manufacturing and network deployment," O’Rielly said Wednesday. Ruckus Networks Wednesday announced release of 3.5 GHz LTE access points and associated cloud-based subscription services. The 3.5 GHz market is likely to be huge, Ruckus said. “The Ruckus LTE portfolio enables enterprises to deploy private LTE networks to ensure high quality-of-service (QoS) for critical business applications,” said a news release.

FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn remains strongly opposed to any changes to the rules for the 3.5 GHz citizens broadband radio services band, which would lead to larger license sizes for priority access licenses (PALs), said Louis Peraertz, her wireless aide, at a panel hosted by General Electric Wednesday. A GE executive said the band is critical to U.S. leadership of the industrial IoT. Tuesday, advocates of larger license sizes spoke at an AT&T-sponsored event (see 1802130041).

A large group of wireless ISPs and other businesses said the FCC shouldn't tamper with rules for the 3.5 GHz citizens broadband radio service band. “For many of us, CBRS will allow us to develop our own networks and deploy technologies that will improve the experiences of our customers and connect the unconnected in rural America,” said a filing in docket 17-258. “CBRS is ready for business, and we are here to tell you that business is ready for CBRS.” The FCC may approve a compromise (see 1801310067).

While staffers for FCC Chairman Ajit Pai aren’t signaling yet what he will recommend on the contentious question of what to do about priority access licenses in the 3.5 GHz citizens broadband radio service (CBRS) band, growing industry speculation is Pai will propose a compromise. Rather than auction all the PALs on a census-tract basis, or as much larger partial economic areas, the FCC would take a varied approach. It would offer some of the seven PALs in each market as census tracts or a similarly small license size and others as PEAs or possibly county-sized licenses.

General Electric, active in the past on the 3.5 GHz citizens broadband radio services band, met FCC Chairman Ajit Pai to urge the agency to stick with a plan to license priority access licenses on a census-tract basis. The FCC is examining whether it should instead license the PALs in larger sizes, as proposed by wireless carriers (see 1710240050). “Census-tract licensing is critically important to GE and its industrial and critical-infrastructure customers, since the CBRS band is an ideal spectrum platform for the ‘Industrial Internet of Things’ (IIoT) and can serve as a unique catalyst for accelerated growth throughout the U.S. industrial and manufacturing sector,” GE filed Wednesday in docket 17-258. “Robust IIoT applications require significant spectrum, secure localized networks, and specialized technology, and today industrial and critical-infrastructure entities are typically unable to obtain the necessary wireless functionality from commercial mobile operators on a cost-effective basis.” Also on 3.5 GHz, GeoLinks CEO Skyler Ditchfield and others from the wireless ISP explained the importance of the band to his company. Ditchfield met over two days with officials, including all FCC members other than Jessica Rosenworcel. “The Company explained the challenge of operating on unlicensed bands such as 5 GHz in urban environments, where overcrowding can slow and disrupt service,” said a Wednesday filing. “It could provide better and more reliable service, including Gigabit service to the home, if the Company had access to sufficient licensed or lightly licensed spectrum.”

The FCC should stick with rules as they are for the 3.5 GHz citizens broadband radio service band, Dynamic Spectrum Alliance President Kalpak Gude told an aide to Chairman Ajit Pai. DSA said it opposes both longer license terms and bigger geographic licenses for priority access licenses (PALs) that are the licensed component of the band. In October, commissioners agreed to seek comment on revising the rules (see 1710240050). “The current three-year terms are better connected to return on investment than the ten-year terms as mentioned in the NPRM, and that renewability is counterproductive to the goals the Commission has articulated for the band,” DSA said in docket 17-258. “Both changes would create a need for more regulatory oversight in terms of build-out requirements and enforcement. Shorter terms with no right of renewal will allow for a much more market driven structure.”