The CBRS Alliance declared its first interoperability test a success and that its branded, LTE-based technology OnGo has “imminent” opportunities for commercial applications.
“While there have been a number of recent accomplishments toward commercial deployment, the technical achievements showcased by our members at last week’s interoperability test event was by far one of the most significant milestones to date,” said Dave Wright, president of the CBRS Alliance, in a statement. “After a successful round of interoperability tests and with initial commercial deployment on the horizon, we are confident that OnGo-enabled business opportunities are imminent.”
The interop took place last week at CableLabs’ headquarters in Louisville, Colorado and drew more than 20 Alliance member companies, including five of the nation’s Spectrum Access System (SAS) administrators: Amdocs, CommScope, Federated Wireless, Google, and Sony. The event also featured a number of telecom industry vendors, including Arris’ Ruckus Networks division, Ericsson and Airspan.
According to the CBRS Alliance, SAS Administrators fostered more than 50 successful interactions, executing a 98% test completion rate with no recorded failures. The interactions tested the critical functions required for support of all the use cases the CBRS Alliances as identified as most relevant for spectrum sharing in the 3.4 GHz band, including mobile network densification, fixed wireless, neutral host and private LTE for both enterprise and industrial IoT use.
Cable and wireless operators are exploring opportunities for the Citizens Broadband Radio Service Device band, a 150 MHz-wide portion of largely underused spectrum existing between 3.55 GHz and 3.7 GHz. CBRS will ultimately be used for private LTE networks such as airports and industrial campuses.
Comcast, Charter Communications and Altice USA are each currently testing various CBRS applications.
By the end of the year, the CBRS Alliance said it expects to have nearly a dozen labs set up around the world to conduct testing for its OnGo certification of the technology.
The FCC, meanwhile, is still reviewing the rules for CBRS deployment, but the CBRS Alliance expects that the General Authorized Access portion of the band will begin being used for commercial applications by the end of 2018.
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