The CBRS Alliance has begun work on a 5G CBRS standard. According to a press release, efforts will include addressing coexistence requirements to help ensure interoperability between LTE and 5G networks in the CBRS band and other bands, along with certificate-based authentication and other requirements.
The CBRS Alliance’s original mission was to provide certification and marketing focused on using LTE technology in the CBRS band. But as network operators make plans to deploy 5G in the CBRS band, it is logical that the focus of the CBRS Alliance would expand to encompass 5G.
5G CBRS Standard
The CBRS band includes spectrum between 3550 and 3700 MHz that will be shared with government users, who will continue to have priority along coastlines. A portion of the CBRS band will be auctioned, while the remainder will be available for unlicensed use – and even licensed spectrum will be available for unlicensed use in areas where a licensee does not offer service.
The work of the CBRS Alliance involving LTE and the CBRS band should help enable LTE to be used for a range of use cases, including mobile and fixed service, neutral host (providing infrastructure for use by multiple network operators) and private LTE (enterprise networks based on LTE technology). And that, in turn, should help all parties gain better equipment costs by maximizing economies of scale.
It would seem that the same parties could achieve similar benefits if the CBRS Alliance can achieve similar results for 5G technology through the new standards effort.
Mobile operators and wireless internet service providers clearly are serious about the CBRS band because both groups lobbied hard for license terms that would be favorable to them. The FCC ultimately established license rules that aim to balance the needs of the large national carriers with those of other potential users.
Among its other responsibilities, the CBRS Alliance created and manages the OnGo brand, which designates shared spectrum in the CBRS and potentially other bands.
The CBRS Alliance said in today’s press release that it expects to complete the new CBRS 5G standard, dubbed CBRS Alliance Release 3, in the fourth quarter of this year, with the goal of enabling OnGo 5G service to be available in 2020.
