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Companies, industry groups petition for small changes to proposed Citizens Broadband Radio Service
Oct 04, 2015 10:21 pm
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The Federal Communications Commission recently approved the new "Citizens Broadband Radio Service," a sort of digital version of the CB radios that became a fad in the mid-1970s, and are still used by truck drivers. The CBRS takes over frequencies between 3.5-3.7 GHz that have traditionally been reserved for military radar and satellite uplinks. Now the FCC will attempt to set up a system that automatically assigns users to open frequencies with a control database mechanism known as the Spectrum Access System. Instead of U.S. military radar taking valuable spectrum whether it was using it or not, this new system allows much more public access to its own airwaves. Much of the anticipated use of the new system is expected to be from unlicensed wireless, allowing experiments with small-scale mesh networks. Eight groups or companies have petitioned the FCC, asking for adjustments to the new systems. These include petitions from CTIA – The Wireless Association; Verizon; Motorola Solutions, Inc.,; Nokia Networks; The Satellite Industry Association; The National Association of Broadcasters; and Jon M. Peha, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University (and a former FCC Chief Technologist). The Communications Law Blog outlines each requested change and links to the petitions, and reports that the public can comment on any (or all) of the petitions until Oct. 19, 2015 at FCC.gov.
The Federal Communications Commission recently approved the new "Citizens Broadband Radio Service," a sort of digital version of the CB radios that became a fad in the mid-1970s, and are still used by truck drivers. The CBRS takes over frequencies between 3.5-3.7 GHz that have traditionally been reserved for military radar and satellite uplinks. Now the FCC will attempt to set up a system that automatically assigns users to open frequencies with a control database mechanism known as the Spectrum Access System. Instead of U.S. military radar taking valuable spectrum whether it was using it or not, this new system allows much more public access to its own airwaves. Much of the anticipated use of the new system is expected to be from unlicensed wireless, allowing experiments with small-scale mesh networks. Eight groups or companies have petitioned the FCC, asking for adjustments to the new systems. These include petitions from CTIA – The Wireless Association; Verizon; Motorola Solutions, Inc.,; Nokia Networks; The Satellite Industry Association; The National Association of Broadcasters; and Jon M. Peha, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University (and a former FCC Chief Technologist). The Communications Law Blog outlines each requested change and links to the petitions, and reports that the public can comment on any (or all) of the petitions until Oct. 19, 2015 at FCC.gov.