Federated Wireless has announced that it has added Airspan Networks to its Spectrum Access System (SAS) and Environmental Sensing Capability (ESC) platform, CINQ XP. Airspan is a leading provider of LTE small cells and small cell backhaul solutions. They have been using the 3.5 GHz band all around the world and are now positioned to become a leader in shared spectrum Radio Access Networks (RANs), a crucial element of 5G.
Together they plan to undertake a trial integration of Airspan’s products with CINQ XP in an effort to demonstrate interoperability between the two in the Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) 3.5 GHz band. They also plan to develop a joint solution for the band in the U.S.
The CBRS 3.5 GHz band provides much needed spectrum to rapidly growing wireless demand, while addressing potential interference and coordination issues with new spectrum sharing and management techniques. In order to operate within the band, companies must utilize a SAS for the allocation and management of spectrum, with the goal of maximizing efficiency in the band. Federated Wireless is developing a solution aimed at accomplishing this with a dynamic, three-tiered system that incorporates information from its ESC, increasing available spectrum in coastal areas while protecting interference-free use by federal incumbents.
Airspan intends to use Federated Wireless’ CINQ XP to launch a newly developed CBRS solution, leveraging hardware and software offering high-end carrier-aggregation and multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) technologies in ground-breaking small cell form factors and pricing, yet offering ‘macro’ performance.
While Federated Wireless was developing the ecosystem for shared spectrum in the U.S., Airspan was developing solutions for the 3.5 GHz band in many other countries. Their partnership will enable them to yield solutions that may have the potential to greatly expand and improve LTE operations using small-cell technology.
