Understanding Citizens Broadband Radio Service

 MobilityCBRS WLAN
FCC Assigned Name600, 700, Cellular, PCS, AWS, WCS, EBRSCBRSISM, UNII-1, UNII-2, UNII-2e, UNII-3
Frequency Band MHz600, 700, 850, 1900, 2100, 2300, 2600 3500 2400, 5500
Standards Organization3GPPCBRS Alliance, 3GPP IEEE
Specifications3GPP Rel 8 thru 143GPP Rel 13+ 802.11, currently ‘ax’ or Wi-Fi 6
CertificationsBy OEM and MNOOnGo certified
 Wi-Fi certified
 InstallationMNO per FCC Auctions  MNO per FCC Auction  
(PAL 7 @ 10 MHz each), 
Enterprise per FCC ‘registration’
(GAA 8 @ 10 MHz each)
 Unlicensed
Previous UsersRelocated to other SpectrumRemain with ‘protection’ from interference via SASRemain, All users must accept interference
TechnologiesLTE, TD-LTE; Transition to 5G-NR
(3GPP Rel 15+)
TD-LTE; Transition to 5G-NR
(3GPP Rel 15+)
 Wi-Fi, LTE-LAA, ZigBee,  UWB, DECT, proprietary, microwave ovens, etc.
KPI IssuesNA: deterministic control of all OTA functions NA: deterministic control of all OTA functionsLatency, jitter, capacity, QoS, security/privacy, roaming/handoff/mobility, device driver SW
OwnershipMNO owned WWANMNO owned WWAN,   
MNO owned WLAN,  Enterprise owned WWAN, or Enterprise owned WLAN  
(all permutations) 
Enterprise owned WLAN
InstallationCertified/professional only Certified/professional onlySelf install allowed 


As of July 2019, 3GPP has approved support for the 5G-NR air interface in the CBRS band, paving the way for mobile 5G deployments using CBRS. Abbreviations and Definitions are available at https://www.wirelessinnovation.org/fcc-definition


CommunicationInfrastructure ConnectivitySolutions BroadbandTechnology SpectrumServices WirelessCommunication Broadcast RadioService 5G & Private LTE (OnGo) WirelessSpectrum FrequencyAllocation TelecomServices CBRS Citizens Broadband Radio GSI Managed Services OnGo OnGo Specs Service WLAN
Subscribe Now