The US Federal Communications Commission has approved changes to the licensing of the 3.5 GHz band aimed at making it easier to use for 5G mobile services. It also proposed opening up more of the 6 GHz band for unlicensed use by wireless devices.
The Commission established rules in 2015 to facilitate shared access between federal government bodies and other users of the 3.5 GHz band, creating what is known as Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS). It created a three-tiered framework of users consisting of incumbents, Priority Access Licenses (PALs) and General Authorized Access (GAA) users.
Its latest decision mainly affects PALs, creating new geographic areas, wider bandwidths and longer terms of 10 years, renewable for the licences. The licences will be allocated on a county basis, with a minimum number of PALs in each area and the ability to partition and disaggregate PALs. Performance and interference requirements will ensure existing protections for other users in the band are maintained.
More room for Wi-Fi
The FCC also proposed opening up to 1200 MHz in the 6 GHz band to more unlicensed users, mainly to relieve congestion in Wi-Fi bands. Unlicensed devices could use the range 5.925-7.125 GHz without interfering with the operation of the licensed services that will continue to use this spectrum.
In those portions of the 6 GHz band that are heavily used by point-to-point microwave links, the Commission proposes to allow unlicensed devices to operate where permitted by an automated frequency coordination system. The regulator opened a consultation on the proposal and asked for feedback on whether spectrum coordination would be necessary for devices operated only indoors. In the other portions of the band where licensed mobile services, such as the Broadcast Auxiliary Service and Cable Television Relay Service, operate, the unlicensed devices would be restricted to indoor operations at lower power.