WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Wireless Innovation Forum (WInnForum) today congratulates member organizations CommScope (NASDAQ: COMM), Federated Wireless and Google (NASDAQ: GOOGL) for FCC approval of Environmental Sensing Capabilities (ESCs) for use in the 3.5 GHz band. The ESCs will be used to detect the presence of federal incumbent radar transmissions and communicate that information to one or more certified SASs. The FCC announced the approval in a Public Notice on Monday.
“This certification is a significant milestone for the industry and clears the way for both national expansion of our ESC network and initial commercial deployment of CBRS,” said Kurt Schaubach, CTO, Federated Wireless. “We truly appreciate the close collaboration and support we have had from the WinnForum and the FCC, and look forward to continuing to build on our work together as we accelerate development and deployment of shared spectrum services.”
Per the Public Notice (https://www.fcc.gov/document/wtboet-approve-environmental-sensing-capabilities-escs-35-ghz), “The Institute for Telecommunication Sciences (ITS), NTIA’s research and development arm, began testing the ESCs submitted by CommScope, Federated, and Google on October 29, 2018. After ITS completed its laboratory testing, it drafted ESC laboratory test reports, which CommScope, Federated, and Google submitted for the Commission’s review.1 WTB/OET, in coordination with NTIA and DoD, have reviewed these reports in detail. Based on the information contained therein, we approve the ESCs of CommScope, Federated, and Google for commercial operation subject to the ongoing compliance obligations in our rules and set forth herein.”
“We congratulate ITS, DoD, and FCC for their stewardship of the ESC certification program,” said Dr. Preston Marshall, Engineering Director, Wireless Services, at Google. “Spectrum Access Systems will be certified soon, and our ESCs will allow us to offer the benefits of CBRS to the significant population of the U.S. that lives near the coasts, while fully protecting our federal incumbent partners in the band.”
“FCC approval of CBRS ESC equipment and systems brings us one step closer to initial commercial deployment and ultimately, full commercial deployment,” added Mike Guerin, Vice President of Integrated Solutions, CommScope. “We look forward to working with customers and federal agencies to ensure success.”
Spectrum Access Systems (SASs) and ESCs are essential components necessary for operations in the 3.5 GHz band. SASs will serve as advanced, highly automated frequency coordinators across the band, protecting higher tier users from harmful interference from lower tier users and optimizing frequency use.
The ESCs will consist of networks of sensors that will detect the presence of signals from federal shipborne radar systems in the band and communicate that information to one or more SASs to facilitate protection of federal incumbents. An ESC network deployment requires dozens of sensor nodes, which will be deployed by ESC Operators incrementally.
WInnForum supports the development and advancement of spectrum sharing technologies based on the three-tier architecture detailed in 3.5 GHz CBRS rules defined by the FCC. The Forum announced the completion of the full set of baseline standards required for WInnForum certification of CBRS equipment in 2018 (http://bit.ly/CBRSBaselineSpec). This watershed event allowed the finalization of CBRS products for official testing and set the stage for the rollout of commercial CBRS networks. More about the WInnForum and its CBRS standards building can be found here: https://cbrs.wirelessinnovation.org.
About the Wireless Innovation Forum
Established in 1996, The Wireless Innovation Forum (SDR Forum Version 2.0) is a non-profit mutual benefit corporation dedicated to advocating for spectrum innovation, and advancing radio technologies that support essential or critical communications worldwide. Members bring a broad base of experience in Software Defined Radio (SDR), Cognitive Radio (CR) and Dynamic Spectrum Access (DSA) technologies in diverse markets and at all levels of the wireless value chain to address emerging wireless communications requirements. To learn more about The Wireless Innovation Forum, its meetings and membership benefits, visit www.WirelessInnovation.org. Forum projects are supported by platinum sponsors Motorola Solutions, Leonardo and Thales.
1 See Performance Certification Results for a 3.5 GHz Environmental Sensing Capability (ESC) Sensor Provided for Testing by Google LLC and CommScope, Inc., GN Docket No. 15-319 (filed Mar. 7, 2019) (submitted by CommScope); Performance Certification Results for a 3.5 GHz Environmental Sensing Capability Sensor Provided for Testing by Federated Wireless, GN Docket No. 15-319 (filed Mar. 13, 2019); Performance Certification Results for a 3.5 GHz Environmental Sensing Capability Sensor Provided for Testing by Google LLC and CommScope, Inc, GN Docket No. 15-319 (filed Mar. 7, 2019).
