Federated Wireless, a technology company working with Charter and Comcast, said it intends to accelerate the deployment of Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS)-based platforms via a new partner program focused on product integration and interoperability across multiple suppliers.
Federated Wireless said the free, new partner program will enable equipment makers focused on CBRS to automate "critical" functions as they integrate with the company's Wireless Spectrum Controller, including onboarding, testing and support. Federated Wireless's spectrum controller platform, launched commercially last fall, would ensure that new and emerging use cases for the CBRS band don't interfere with the incumbents.
As the number of trials and companies involved continues to rise, so has the need to provide another level of automation to help manage this growing ecosystem, according to Iyad Tarazi, Federated Wireless's president and CEO.
Charter is a prime example, telling the FCC that it's working with eight different vendors for 3.5-GHz trials underway in Tampa, Fla., and Charlotte, N.C., for mobility use cases. It's also testing fixed wireless solutions in that band in a handful of markets.
Federated Wireless believes that that program will enable OEMs to move quickly from initial onboarding, to interoperability testing, to commercial deployment, when FCC certification is completed. Automating that interoperability process will help those vendors integrate faster while also keeping pace with changes, Tarazi said.
A number of vendors are already on board with Federated Wireless's new partner program, including Ericsson, Nokia, Samsung Electronics America, Huawei, Askey Computer Corp., Airspan Networks, ZTE, Telrad Networks, Cambium Networks, and Ruckus Wireless, the wireless/mobile technology company acquired by Arris late last year.
