It’s been six months since Congress passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), so what does that mean for spectrum and what’s still ahead?

Image: Openverse — “Thanos” by Hannaford is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

To start, the IIJA approved $50 million for a study on the 3.1-3.45 GHz band. The Department of Defense will conduct the study before its 21-month deadline, supported by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. 

Why the study? To see if and how more mid-band spectrum can be freed up for commercial and public use. Similar to what the Marvel Cinematic Universe supervillain Thanos believed in “Avengers: Infinity War,” spectrum is a finite resource and we are already approaching our limits. But unlike Thanos and his misguided quest to kill half of all life in the universe, we cannot snap our fingers and reduce our spectrum usage by half to solve our problems. We rely heavily on spectrum and will need it to support the exciting technology and innovations of the future. 

What’s the solution? We need advanced spectrum sharing models that can balance the needs of the federal government and consumers while also boosting our economy. That’s why we should build on the success of the CBRS sharing model in the 3.5 GHz band and adopt this approach in the 3.1-3.45 GHz band.

We’ve already seen the CBRS sharing model prompt expansive innovation and competition. It maximizes the efficiency of critical mid-band 5G spectrum while thoroughly protecting U.S. naval operations across the country. In fact, there are more than 150,000 network nodes deployed in CBRS and zero reported cases of interference.

Beyond that, the CBRS model provides spectrum to a wide variety of users — like municipalities, schools, libraries and hospitals — who could never afford a large exclusive area license. These non-traditional entities are then able to provide broadband access to more people, helping us to close the digital divide. 

So why is it important to consider the same solution for the 3.1-3.45 GHz band? We’re on the cusp of 6G, next-generation Wi-Fi and a host of new IoT uses that can change the way we live. But we need the mix of unlicensed and shared spectrum to make this a reality.

And we wouldn’t have to wait. Sharing would mean that the 3.1-3.45 GHz band could be used by consumers faster. As it stands right now, these bands are home to critical military operations, making obtaining clearance for auctions a challenge. Even if we get over that hurdle, as we saw in the C-Band, auctioning exclusive spectrum unfortunately doesn’t eliminate all complications. 

Spectrum sharing also saves on costs and is an economic boon. Multiple studies have demonstrated that unlicensed spectrum sharing generates billions for the U.S. economy and an astounding $3.4 trillion for the global economy. That value comes from everything from residential and enterprise Wi-Fi to job creation, off-loading from mobile network operators and use cases such as AR/VR or video streaming. 

A CBRS-like sharing model in the 3.1-3.45 GHz band would meet the requirements of the legislation, which specifically mentions shared use. It has been a proven success and would significantly boost our economy—no destructive Thanos Snap necessary.