Citizens Broadband Radio Service
CBRS Deployment Options and Expected Impart
5G, IOT, LTE and AI just to mention a few are some of the profound topics that are trending in IT World. However, what came as a slight surprise was the increased interest aroung Citizens Broadband Radio Services(CBRS).
Various types of wireless networks, that is, those used by Fixed Wireless Networks, Wireless Operators, Enterprises and the ever growing Internet Of Things (IOT) are always in need of more spectrum.
The recent availability of Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) opens that opportunity to use the new spectrum if you have the solution in place to use it.
The creation of a new publicly available transmission band in the 3.5 GHz band was identified as a possibility by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) for shared federal and non-federal use in its 2010 Fast Track Report.
Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) is a 150 MHz wide broadcast band of the 3.5 GHz band (3550 MHz to 3700 MHz). Some of this spectrum will continue to be used by the United States government for radar systems, but will be available for others where it is not needed by the Navy.
In 2016, six companies interested in promoting CBRS technology and driving adoption formed the CBRS Alliance. As of mid-2017, the CBRS Alliance listed over 60 members, including AT&T, Charter Communications, Cisco Systems, Comcast, the CTIA, Ericsson, Federated Wireless, Intel, Nokia, Qualcomm, Ruckus Wireless, SpiderCloud Wireless, Sprint Corporation, and Verizon Wireless.
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Beginning in 2017, a number of CBRS trial projects were initiated in various cities. In February 2017, Nokia, Alphabet and Qualcomm tested LTE technology in a CBRS-band broadcast of “live high-definition video of cars racing on a track in Las Vegas”.
In April, Kansas City, Missouri “approved a Google test of 3.5GHz shared wireless in more than eight locations in that area for up to 18 months”.
In May, Google received permission from the FCC to test wireless technology within the CBRS band at four NASCAR race events held during the summer of 2017, in Bristol, Tennessee, Brooklyn, Michigan, Darlington, South Carolina, and Richmond, Virginia.
By August 2017, Verizon Communications had formed a consortium “to carry out the first use of CBRS (Citizens Broadband Radio Service) band 48 spectrum in a 4G LTE Advanced (LTE-A) carrier aggregation demonstration”.
In November 2017, the CBRS Alliance entered into an agreement with the Wireless Internet Service Providers Association (WISPA) “to cooperate closely in the advancement of the Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) spectrum band”.
In 2017, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) completed a process begun in 2012 to establish rules for commercial use of this band. Wireless carriers using CBRS might be able to deploy 5G mobile networks without having to acquire spectrum licenses.
CBRS operates in 3.5 GHz band, this band is a spectrum that is used traditionally used by the military, commercial satellite and ISP operators. That means in order to utilize the band, your network must employ a Spectrum Access System (SAS) to dynamically manage and use the spectrum.
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In order to share spectrum with other users, the SAS must access an Environmental Sensing Capability (ESC) network in order to comply with Federal Communication Commission regulations governing access priorities in areas of military operation.
The CBRS band offers a diverse range of deployment options which include:
- Small Cell Networks: Additional network layers based on small cells would allow for increased capacity where needed the most.
- 5G Fixed Wireless Access: Fixed Wireless Access at 3.5 GHz could deliver peak rates that few technologies could match without deep fixed fiber.
- Enterprise Neutral Host: With traffic increasingly concentrating small cells offer a potential solution to issues associated with legacy technologies.
- Private Networks: Local private network utilizing dedicated radio equipment to service a premise with specific applications and services.
- Massive MIMO Hotspot: mMIMO hotspots would serve the needs of high usage, high density areas with relatively low mobility.
- Industrial IoT: Private LTE or 5G networks on 3.5 GHz could ensure the high reliability and low latency needs for robust IIoT operations.
- Macro Coverage: Emerging 5G RF technologies could enable a 3.5 GHz layer overlaid on the existing macro grid.
CBRS Expected Impart
- Bloomberg Technology has described CBRS as potentially being more reliable than Wi-Fi”.
- Technology that risks making Wi-Fi outmoded.
- CBRS Alliance president Michael Peters characterizing CBRS as possibly “a better option for factories, airports and ports”.
- Network World has noted that it is quite likely that the band will be used for 5G, and that might synch nicely with services offered in other countries that are actually targeting the band for 5G services.
- It is proposed that such a 5G network promises to let consumers download a high-definition movie in less than a second.
