The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has released proposed rules for a new Citizens Broadband Radio Service that it says would promote a diverse array of network technologies and allow the exploration of new methods of spectrum sharing.
According to a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking issued in April 2014, the new radio service would utilize spectrum between 3550 and 3700 MHz, and consist of a three-tiered spectrum access and sharing model that would include federal and non-federal incumbent license holders, priority access licensees, and general authorized users.
The Commission says that its proposal would protect incumbent licensees from harmful interference while also making available target priority access licenses for various uses, such as broadband mobile services. General authorized access would be permitted within a reserve amount of spectrum for other consumer and business use, including advanced home wireless networking services. Activity within the proposed Service spectrum would be managed by a “spectrum access system,” a dynamic database that would manage access and operations across the three tiers.
If successful, the Commission says that the spectrum sharing model utilized by the new Citizens Broadband Radio Service could be expanded to other spectrum bands, thereby increasing the overall availability of spectrum.
Read the complete text of the FCC’s Notice regarding proposed rules for a new Citizens Broadband Radio Service.
