Dynamic Sharing May Prove Only Option in Some Bands: NTIA

The U.S. is reaching an inflection point where some bands will be available only for sharing, said Derek Khlopin, deputy associate administrator-spectrum planning and policy in the NTIA Office of Spectrum Management. During an RCR Wireless private networks forum Tuesday, Khlopin said the national spectrum strategy discusses spectrum dynamic sharing many times, and that’s not a surprise. Khlopin, who is coordinating NTIA’s work on the strategy (see 2405060051), said, “I don’t think we really have a choice."

“For years, we’ve done a lot of repurposing or reallocating spectrum,” he said. “Those opportunities are very few and far between these days, and going forward will only be harder to do.” The strategy is looking at ways to advance how sharing is done, he said. Some current models of sharing have been “a little bit more static” where new users must protect incumbents in geographic areas, he added.

In the citizens broadband radio service band, the U.S. “kind of took that initial leap into more active forms of sharing,” Khlopin said. What we’re looking at now “is how do we keep advancing the state of the art, what makes sense,” he said. The approach may prove different in every band, Khlopin said. CBRS seems to be working well for private networks, he added.

“Do we build on CBRS for some of these other bands?” Khlopin asked: “Do we look at some other tools? What does this mean in terms of getting more dynamic spectrum use?” All of that is “on the table.”

Spectrum policy has evolved as airwaves have become more crowded and valuable, said Joe Kochan, CEO of the National Spectrum Consortium (NSC), which is working with DOD on a study of the lower 3 GHz band. “Now what we’re talking about … is sharing is the only path forward,” he said.

NCS provides a forum for experts to network from across industries, including from companies that make defense systems, carriers, equipment makers and cable companies, Kochan said. “There is a whole host of ideas” on what industry looks like and wants and what is most valuable, he said. DOD and other agencies are also part of the discussion, he argued. Participants can talk about ways bands can be shared and the gaps in technology and establish real-world tests, he said. “It’s really the only way you uncork some of this … and find a way to move forward.”

Dynamic sharing is like focusing a microscope, Kochan said. “You’re slowly dialing in the focus on exactly how fine-grained the controls are going to have to be,” he said. Regardless of what people think about CBRS, “it’s working,” he said. People were able to create a framework, design technology for sharing, “prototype, test and deploy that technology and now put it out there for commercial use in such a way that CBRS is an active market,” he said.

Kochan said CBRS is “underpinning” many private networks in the U.S. and provides a starting point. “Do you build upon that?” he asked. “Do you reuse that? Do you try to get more dynamic in the dynamic spectrum sharing world?”

View From the U.K.

As an alternative to CBRS, the U.K.’s Office of Communications has made shared access licenses available since 2019, anchored in the 3.8-4.2 GHz range, said Richard Moore, Ofcom principal-spectrum policy. Most of the protected uses were permanent earth stations and fixed links, he said. “We are able to technically coordinate around those relatively effectively without necessarily needing a dynamic system,” he said.

About 500 entities are using the flexible licenses, including for fixed wireless access to broadband, at factories, mining facilities and ports, Moore said. The 3.8 GHz band is adjacent to 5G spectrum in the U.K., which allows retuning of equipment, he said.

With an ecosystem in place, “I think we’re going to see a lot more take up,” Moore said. Ofcom is also examining technical conditions for using licenses, including allowing for higher power levels to those comparable to what’s available for CBRS in the U.S., he said. Ofcom is also looking at synchronizing networks, he said. That will let us “issue a lot more licenses,” he said. One proposal would encourage licensees to collaborate on resolving interference issues, he said. Increasingly, Ofcom recognizes the benefits of coordination, he said.

Ofcom is also looking at mechanisms for allowing networks to sense each other. It released a paper last week on sharing the upper 6 GHz band between Wi-Fi and mobile use, while protecting incumbents, Moore said. Dynamic sharing “is the future.”

Notebook

Verizon has a commitment to private networks, and has had this in some form for more than 15 years, said Arvin Singh, Verizon head-global 5G solutions engineering. “That includes “deploying networks on-premise, indoor, in-building systems, distributed antenna systems, using public licensed spectrum,” he said: Verizon also offers mobile private networks, separating traffic from the core network. With 5G, “we’re in a different place in our history as an industry,” Singh said. The carrier's now able to build private networks “designed and purpose-built to solve specific use cases and problems,” he said. “This is real -- it works, it solves problems,” he said. Verizon fully manages the network, making it easy to deploy, he said.

Forestry company Georgia Pacific is one of the biggest users of data of any company in the world but has witnessed a decline in productivity in recent years as workers became overwhelmed by technology and “dashboards,” said Michael Carroll, vice president-innovation. “We were weaponizing technology, and we were sending technology to the frontline that created distractions,” he said. Staff turnover exacerbated the problem and newer employees were unsure about what data they can ignore, he said. It worsened as people left the company during the COVID-19 pandemic, he added.