Citizens Broadband Radio ServiceOverview & Update

Andrew CleggNSMA 2018

May 15th, 2018

CBRS Overview

2

Background

Slide 3

Incumbents

Priority Access License

General Authorized Access

• April 2015 & 2016: FCC adopts three-tiered spectrum sharing architecture as proposed in the

2012 Report of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST Report)

• Utilizes “fast-track” band (3550-3700 MHz) identified by PCAST and the National

Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA, the regulator of U.S. federal

government spectrum use)

• Codified in a new Part 96

• Rules accommodate small-cell use, outdoor cells, point-to-point, and point-to-multipoint

• Tier 1: Incumbents

• Tier 2: Priority Access Licenses (PAL)

• Tier 3: General Authorized Access (GAA)

• Tiers 2 & 3 are regulated under the new Citizens Broadband Radio

Service (CBRS)

• Citizens Broadband Radio Service Devices (CBSDs) are the fixed

base stations/access points operating under this new service

• CBSDs can only operate under the authority and management of a

centralized Spectrum Access System (SAS)

• SAS manages interference to incumbents by Tiers 2 and 3, interference among Tier

2 devices, and interference from Tier 3 into Tier 2.

• SAS may also manage co-existence within Tier 3

Three-Tier Architecture

Slide 4

Priority Access License (PAL)

Slide 5

● Licenses sold by auction

● License areas are (or maybe were) census tractso ~74,000 census tracts in U.S., each with ~4,000 pops

● One PAL = 10 MHz channel in one license

● Each census tract will have a maximum of seven and a minimum

of 0 PALs

● Maximum number of PALs ~500,000 across the country

● PALs will be within 3550-3650 MHz

● Example use caseso Capacity/offload networks for established wireless service providers

o QoS-managed enterprise/venue networks

o Private LTE and neutral host networks

o Utility networks

o Protected backhaul

o Wireless Broadband Service

General Authorized Access (GAA)

Slide 6

● No interference protections; must protect incumbents and PALs

● No a priori bandwidth limit or license area

● May utilize unused PAL spectrum

● Minimum of 80 and maximum of 150 MHz of GAA spectrum in each

area, subject to incumbent activity

● GAA can utilize any unused frequency in 3550-3700 MHz

● Licensed by rule

● Example use caseso Personal & small business hot spots

o Campus hot spots

o PAL offload during periods of incumbent activity interrupting PAL spectrum

o Unprotected capacity/offload for established wireless providers

o Wireless Broadband Services

o Backhaul

o Private LTE and neutral host networks

• No restrictions on air interface, other than signals must be digital

• 802.11 actively disavowed interest in CBRS band, so no obvious Wi-Fi use in the

short term

• 802.11y covers 3650-3700

• Predominant interest in the band has been for LTE

• Specifically, TD-LTE

• 3GPP has created Band 48 for Part 96-compliant TD-LTE in 3550-3700 MHz in Release 14

• 3GPP has created Band 49 for Part 96-compliant LAA in 3550-3700 MHz in Release 15

• CBRS band partially overlaps 3GPP Bands 42 & 43 (3400-3600/3600-3800 TD-LTE)

• Industry group created to support LTE standards, device certification, deployments, business

use cases, and co-existence in CBRS band (CBRS Alliance, ~90 corporate members)

• Some proprietary interfaces may be used as wireless broadband providers

migrate to CBRS

Air Interfaces

Slide 7

Band Overview

Slide 8

Incumbent Federal Radiolocation

(Occasional activity, primarily in coastal areas)

Incumbent FSS Rx-Only Earth Stations

Priority Access License

(Up to 7 10-MHz channels*)

General Authorized Access

(At least 8 10-MHz channels*)

Part 90

(Broadband & utilities)

3550 3600 3650 3700

← 3GPP LTE Band 42

(3400-3600)3GPP LTE Band 43 (3600-3800) →

3GPP LTE Bands 48 & 49 (TD-LTE & LAA)

* Depending on incumbent activity

Devices

Slide 9

● Category A CBSDo Access points, femtocells, etc.

o Indoor; outdoor with HAAT

limited to 6 m

o Lower antenna gain/EIRP

allowed compared to Cat B

o 30 dBm max EIRP

● Category B CBSDo Professional installation

required

o Outdoor only

o 47 dBm max EIRP

● End User Deviceso 23 dBm max EIRP

o No peer-to-peer

● All CBSDs/EUDs must be

capable of two-way

communications on any

authorized frequency

● CBSD location requirementso ±50 m horizontal by ±3 m

vertical

o Report to SAS within 60 s if

moved

• Military ship-borne radar

• Operate in 3550-3650 MHz in coastal areas

• Only 19 ships with current-generation radar in the world; about 75% of this total are homeported in Norfolk, VA,

San Diego, CA, and Bremerton, WA

• Next-gen radars will be deployed on some future ships; ~2 in existence now

• Military ground-based radar

• Occasional operations in various locations around the country, at frequencies both within and adjacent/near to

CBRS

• Fixed-satellite service earth stations (receive-only)

• In-band: 35 sites around the U.S.; mostly coastal sites, limited to intercontinental international satellites

• Adjacent band (3700-4200 MHz): Thousands of sites around U.S., only required to protect those used for TT&C

• Protection criteria established in CBRS rules

• Wireless Broadband and Utility Services (Part 90, subpart Z) (3650-3700 MHz)

• Many thousands around the country

• These stations will be transitioned to PAL or GAA operation in 2020 (most) through 2023 (few)

Incumbents

Slide 10

High-Level Schematic

Tier 1: Incumbents

Military RadarFixed-Satellite

Service

(Rx-only)

Wireless Broadband

Services

Spectrum Access

System

(SAS)

New Entrants

Tier 2

Priority Access

License (PAL)

Tier 3

General Authorized

Access (GAA)

Environmental Sensing

Capability (ESC)

Transition by 2020-2023

SAS manages interference

protections:

• From tiers 2 & 3 into Tier 1

• Within Tier 2

• From Tier 3 into Tier 2

Slide 11

Informing Incumbent

Portal

CBRS Developments since Last NSMA

12

SAS Administrators and ESC Operators

Slide 13

Company Wave SAS Administrator Applicant ESC Operator Applicant

Amdocs 1 Conditionally Approved N/A

CommScope 1 Conditionally Approved Conditionally Approved

Federated Wireless 1 Conditionally Approved Conditionally Approved

Google 1 Conditionally Approved Conditionally Approved

iPosi 1 N/A Conditionally Approved

Key Bridge 1 Conditionally Approved Conditionally Approved

Sony Corporation 1 Conditionally Approved N/A

Fairspectrum 2 Application Submitted N/A

Nokia 2 Application Submitted Application Submitted

Red Technologies 2 Application Submitted N/A

Rivada Networks 2 Application Submitted Application Submitted

“Conditionally approved” means application paperwork is in order. No SASs or ESCs are yet approved for commercial operation.

Second-wave applications are those submitted after the May 16th, 2016, first-wave deadline

• Wireless Innovation Forum (WInnForum) has completed its

Release 1 CBRS standards (February 2018)

• CBRS Alliance has published Network and Coexistence Baseline

Specifications (last month)

• Network specs define deployment of LTE Private Network, LTE Neutral Host

Network, or hybrid

• Co-existence is aligned with WInnForum specifications, plus cell phase

synchronization, TDD configurations for TD-LTE, GAA channelization, and SAS-

CBRS protocol extensions

• CBRS Alliance has launched OnGoTM brand and OnGo certification

program (last week)

Industry Standards

Slide 14

• DoD has refined lists of areas that require protection from CBRS

• Finalized description of off-shore “Dynamic Protection Areas”

• Added several inland sites that require protection in various bands

• FCC is collecting data on in-band and adjacent band FSS

operations

• Public notice issued December 2017 (DA 17-1232)

• FCC has collected data on incumbent Part 90 operators

• Part 90 filing window opened from April – August 2017 (DA 17-340)

Incumbent Data Collection Activities

Slide 15

Government Incumbent Protection

Slide 16

ESC-Monitored Area

Portal-Controlled Area

Exclusion Zone

• To receive protection from harmful interference caused by CBRS,

FSS receive-only earth stations operating within the CBRS band

(“in-band FSS”), and FSS receive-only earth stations used for TT&C

operating in the adjacent 3700-4200 MHz band (“adjacent-band

FSS”) have to register their operating parameters with FCC IB

• Registration data go beyond what is required under Part 25

licensing/registration

• Data must be updated annually to maintain protections

• Approximately 35 in-band sites

• Unknown number of adjacent-band TT&C sites, but “<100”

expected

FSS Registration

Slide 17

• In the range 3650-3700 MHz, in-band FSS sites must be protected

per Part 90 rules, which require a 150 km exclusion zone unless

other protections have been worked out with the FSS operator

• Transitions to coordination zone when last Part 90 device within 150 km turns off

• For in-band sites below 3650, aggregate interference must not

exceed the designated interference criterion, and blocking limits

must not be exceeded

• CBSDs out to 150 km are included in co-channel interference calculation

• CBSDs out to 40 km are included for blocking interference

• For adjacent-band sites, CBSDs out to 40 km are included in

blocking and non-co-channel interference calculation

• Interference criteria

• FSS passband: -129 dBm/MHz

• Blocking: -60 dBm at the output of the FSS front-end filter

FSS Protections

Slide 18

In-Band FSS Exclusion/Coordination Zones

Slide 19

• the earth stations’ geographic location (using NAD83 coordinates)

• antenna gain

• azimuth and elevation gain pattern

• antenna azimuth relative to true north

• antenna elevation angle

• whether the earth station is used for satellite TT&C (for earth stations operating

in the 3700-4200 MHz band)

• antenna site elevation and height above ground

• longitude of GSO satellite location

• frequency range of FSS frequency assignments to be protected

• registration time and reference data

• certifier contact information

• licensee, point of contact, and call sign information

FSS Registration Data for CBRS Protection

Slide 20

• CBRS must protect areas in which Part 90Z operates

• Part 90 operators who desired protection were required to define their operating

area, per base station, by specifying:

• the location of base transmitter

• radius to most distant registered user (5.3 km if no registered users)

• and (if not omnidirectional) the pointing azimuth and beamwidth of the base antenna

• These parameters define the “Grandfathered Wireless Protection Zones” (GWPZs)

in which aggregate interference from CBRS must not exceed a pre-established

level

• All CBSDs within 40 km of the boundary of the GWPZ must be considered in the

aggregate interference calculation

• GWPZs must be protected until sunset of Part 90 operations (mostly in 2020, some

as late as 2023)

Part 90: Grandfathered Wireless Protection Zones

Slide 21

Grandfathered Wireless Protection Zones (GWPZs)

Slide 22

GWPZ Close-up (near Lake Winnebago WI)

Slide 23

GWPZ Close-up (near Houston TX)

Slide 24

Example 40 km Aggregate Interference Zone

Slide 25

• CTIA and T-Mobile filed petitions for rulemaking in June 2017

• CTIA petition

• 10-year license terms instead of three

• Expectation of renewal at end of term

• PAL license areas should be Partial Economic Areas (PEAs) instead of census

tracts

• SAS Administrators should protect CBSD registration data

• T-Mobile petition

• All of CTIA, plus

• The entire CBRS band should be available for PAL

• Remove the “N-1” rule for PAL licenses (auctioning one fewer PAL than demand)

• Allow bidding on specific channels

• Relax the OOBE rules

Petitions for Reconsideration

Slide 26

• NPRM issued in October 2017

• Resolution not yet complete

• Many differences of opinion, particularly on license size

• Various attempts at compromises have been attempted or are underway

• Does not hold up SAS, ESC, or device certification

• GAA can be deployed prior to resolution of PAL items

• Initially certified devices would meet equal or stricter OOBE limits regardless of

outcome

Resolution of Petitions

Slide 27

• What has to happen to get to commercial CBRS operation?

• Required Events:

• Device certification

• SAS certification

• Technically optional, but effectively not:

• ESC certification & deployment

• Needed for CBRS deployment in coastal areas and near certain inland sites

• ESCs can be deployed in phases

• Certified Professional Installer certification

• Required for all Cat B installations, and non-auto-geolocating Cat A installations

• PAL auction

Tasks to Achieve Commercial CBRS Operations

Slide 28

• Device certification

• Expected to begin seeing certified CBSDs and EUDs ~summer 2018

• SAS certification

• Lab testing by NTIA’s Institute of Telecommunications Sciences begins ~July

2018, expected to take ~3 months, to be completed by ~Nov 1 2018

• ESC certification

• Lab testing of ESC sensors and decision logic by ITS

• Expected to be roughly concurrent with SAS certification

• FCC, NTIA, and DoD review of lab results

• Timescale TBD

• Public Field Trials

• Certified Professional Installer program in place

• Full certification of SAS and ESC

• Commencement of commercial CBRS

Sequence of Events

Slide 29

• With no other considerations, SAS and ESC certification should be

achieved in late 2018 or early 2019

• Commercial GAA operation outside of coastal areas can begin immediately

• ESC networks will be deployed starting in late 2018 extending into

2019

• Will extend GAA operations into coastal areas

• PAL auctions in 2019

• Will allow full CBRS operation under both PAL and GAA

Timescale for Commercial CBRS

Slide 30

Summary

• A lot of CBRS activity has occurred since last year

• Regulations and standards are in place

• Incumbent protections are fully defined

• Completion of certification programs is the next major task

• Expect commercial CBRS operation in late 2018 or early 2019

31Slide 31