Spectrum is a finite resource — and everyone wants more of it. 

Thanks to more spectrum being allocated for unlicensed use, Wi-Fi speed has soared to even higher levels. But as our airwaves become more crowded, the need to balance commercial spectrum and government operations will continue to grow. 

Photo by Buffik

Shared spectrum models provide the opportunity to expand access to spectrum for all stakeholders. The Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) is a prime example of a successful sharing model. In 2015, the FCC established CBRS as a three-tiered framework to accommodate for sharing the 3.5 GHz band for both federal and non-federal users. This model balances the needs of incumbent military operations, commercially licensed services and general authorized access (GAA) — all enabled by automatic frequency coordination that happens in real-time.

Imagine shared spectrum as a busy traffic intersection. Many vehicles want to cross the intersection, but if they all tried to do so at once, it would lead to lots of crashes. The CBRS model is akin to having a traffic light determining when cars from each part of the intersection can cross, instead of a free for all.  

The concept sounds great in theory — and it has proven quite successful. 

With more than 150,000 network nodes deployed in CBRS and zero reported cases of interference, this system has proven its efficacy and has been touted as a success with bipartisan support. It has also proven economically viable, as a 2017 study released by OnGo Alliance estimated that the market value of CBRS ranges up to $15.6 billion.

CBRS has increased the number of people using broadband services without interference and led to innovative implementations of Wi-Fi across a wide variety of sectors. In health care, for example, Memorial Health System Clinic in Springfield, Illinois, used CBRS to link outdoor hotspots with indoor networks, allowing nurses to assess patients’ medical needs from outside the hospital. 

This is just one facet of CBRS. There have been numerous success stories, including improvements to precision agriculture, manufacturing productivity, military communication and more. Over the next few weeks, WifiForward will champion how CBRS has changed these sectors for the better — and explore what else can be done in the future to expand shared spectrum access.