The FCBA Wireless Telecommunications Committee will sponsor a CLE on Monday, November 19 from 4:00 – 6:15 p.m. entitled 3.5 GHz CBRS “Innovation Band” – Ready for Launch. This program will be held at Wiley Rein LLP, 1776 K Street, NW.
The 3.5 GHz band is poised for deployment under the FCC’s Consumer Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) rules, representing a new paradigm for government-commercial sharing. Specifically, the incumbent services (predominantly Navy radar operations) will continue to operate unabated even as commercial users are expected to enter the band in huge numbers, governed by automated Spectrum Access Systems (SASs) that will protect incumbents and facilitate sharing among commercial uses. This CLE program will explore the innovative regulatory framework and technologies that make sharing this band possible. It will also investigate the use cases that are feeding demand for access to this mid-band spectrum.
AGENDA
4:00 – 5:05 p.m. Welcome and Introductions
4:05 – 5:05 p.m. The Making of an “Innovation Band”
The first panel will include a description of the three-tiered sharing framework for the 3.5 GHz band; the CBRS rules governing commercial use of the band – both in lightly-licensed “General Authorized Access” (GAA) and “Priority Access License” (PAL) modes; and the timeline moving forward. It will feature a conversation on how diverse parties within government (including the FCC, NTIA and Department of Defense), as well as industry, reached consensus on a path forward for this band.
Moderator: Derek Khlopin, Senior Advisor to the Assistant Secretary, NTIA and Co-Chair, FCBA Wireless Telecommunications Committee
Speakers: Mark Gibson, Director, Business Development, Comsearch Jessica Greffenius, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, Federal Communications Commission Thomas Taylor, Deputy Director for Policy, Technology & EMS Operations for the Spectrum Policy and International Engagement Directorate, Office of the Department of Defense (DoD) Chief Information Officer (CIO)
5:05 – 5:15 p.m. Break
5:15 – 6:15 p.m. Diverse Uses and the Business Case for the 3.5 GHz Band
The second panel will continue the discussion, moving from the legal and policy framework for the band, to a focus on the market-drivers and use cases that are spurring real-world trials and deployment in the 3.5 GHz band. We will discuss the expected first deployments in the band, starting with GAA services expected later this year, followed by licensed operations, which require an FCC auction likely to occur in 2020.
Moderator: Jeffrey Marks, Head of Regulatory Affairs, North America, Nokia and Co-Chair, FCBA Wireless Telecommunications Committee
Speakers: Claude Aiken, President and CEO, Wireless Internet Service Providers Association (WISPA) Andrew Clegg, Spectrum Engineering Lead, Google Michael Fitzpatrick, Head of Regulatory Advocacy, Global Law & Policy, GE Patrick Welsh, Assistant Vice President of Federal Regulatory, Verizon
