Securing America’s Wireless Future
Shared Spectrum Drives American Opportunity
Spectrum sharing is an American innovation, led by American companies, that puts America’s needs first. Spectrum for the Future advocates for a shared spectrum approach to making more bandwidth available to more users – boosting competition, creating jobs and economic growth, and keeping our nation safe.
The Problem:
Spectrum is a limited national resource. With no “greenfield” bands of unused spectrum left, balancing the growing spectrum demands of consumers, businesses, and the U.S. military requires innovative solutions.
The Solution:
If Congress and the FCC choose to make more spectrum available for commercial use, they should choose a framework that still protects critical national security systems. Spectrum sharing lets consumers, businesses, and defense systems safely use the same spectrum bands.
Benefits of Sharing:
Building on the Success of CBRS
As policymakers consider making additional spectrum available for commercial use, we must build on the demonstrated success of existing shared spectrum models.
For example, the Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) provides a proven model for U.S.-led spectrum sharing innovation. CBRS is a low power, shared-license approach that ensures the U.S. Navy can continue operating critical radar systems alongside commercial operators safely using spectrum in the same band. Since launching in 2020, CBRS is already being leveraged for a multitude of uses, including rural connectivity, smart factories, airports, defense applications, higher education, automobile manufacturing, precision agriculture, and patient monitoring in hospitals.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) completed its first auction of CBRS shared licenses in 2020. In that short timeframe, CBRS is now being used throughout the country.
CBRS By The Numbers:
400,000+
CBRS base station devices deployed
98%
of U.S. states, D.C., and islands with at least one active CBRS base station
278
CBRS base station models certified by FCC
841
different end-user devices certified by FCC
Our Coalition
Dynamic Spectrum Sharing Spotlight
BMW made a significant technological leap by introducing a private 5G wireless network at its Spartanburg, South Carolina manufacturing facility, aimed at streamlining manufacturing and storage activities and ensuring a seamless operational flow. With a production rate exceeding 1,500 cars daily, this South Carolina facility is the largest BMW manufacturing hub in the world – and it’s powered by CBRS.
