CBRS Alliance forms Deployment and Operations Working Group
After years of discussion and technological development, the CBRS Alliance is expecting commercial deployments in the 3.5 GHZ Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) band by the fourth quarter of this year. Ahead of that, the trade association is stepping on the gas with a new working group dedicated to deployment and operations and an interoperability testing event later this month.
The new working group, co-chaired by American Tower’s Piyush Raj, is focused on “identifying, defining and implementing end-to-end deployment models and operational best practices for OnGo connectivity, including the interconnections between networks, network operators and roaming hubs,” according to the group. OnGo is the commercial name for CBRS.
Raj said the working group’s goal, in part, is “fostering an active conversation between end users, service providers and the technical working groups to ensure all needs are met as the technology continues to evolve to best meet industry demands.”
In addition to Raj, Boingo Wireless Chief Technology Officer Derek Peterson serves as co-chair of the new working group. Boingo in July announced what it called a first-of-its-kind CBRS deployment at Dallas Love Field. The company is supporting around 20 users from Love’s IT department who are equipped with compatible smartphones and dongles for laptops. Ruckus provided the five radio nodes deployed in the airport and Federated Wireless provided the spectrum access system.
“Shared spectrum and private LTE will play a pivotal role in next generation wireless, underscoring the need for a Work Group that is focused on end-to-end CBRS deployments in real-world settings,” Peterson said. “Boingo is pleased to help lead this new CBRS group and we look forward to sharing key learnings from our commercial trials to drive further momentum and maximize the potential of 3.5 GHz in a converged, shared spectrum model.”
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