Four major satellite companies have formed a new consortium to work to clear the USA’s mid-band satellite spectrum for use by the nation’s 5G operators.
The C-Band Alliance (CBA) is intended to enable a breakthrough market-based approach to managing and funding spectrum clearing in a way that protects incumbent users and their content distribution and data networks in the US from potential interference.
“The CBA is designed to act as a facilitator as described in a recent US FCC proceeding featuring the companies’ market-based proposal to clear a portion of C-band spectrum in the United States,” the group said in a statement. “The formation of the CBA is a significant achievement and demonstrates the industry alignment necessary to make this mid-band spectrum available quickly, thus supporting the US objective of winning the race to introduce terrestrial 5G services.”
“The market-based proposal was developed in response to a proceeding initiated by the FCC in August 2017, which led to the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that was formally approved by the FCC on July 12, 2018 and published in the Federal Register of August 30, 2018. The proposal reflects the unique U.S. telecommunications environment and aims to protect the quality and reliability of the extensive services provided by satellite operators in the C-band spectrum to U.S. broadcasters, media, and data companies. The proposal establishes a commercial and technical framework that would enable terrestrial mobile operators to quickly access spectrum in a portion of the 3,700 to 4,200 MHz frequency band in the U.S., speeding the deployment of next-generation 5G services.”
