For Immediate Release

June 3, 2025

Contact: [email protected]

In case you missed it – Dean Bubley, a tech industry expert and founder of Disruptive Analysis, published a column in RCR Wireless explaining why lawmakers must protect America’s “innovation band” – the Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) – against AT&T’s push to halt competition from lower-cost wireless providers.

“Years of wrangling would likely ensue if a forced relocation was to proceed. During that time, many constructive and innovative uses of 3.5 GHz could stagnate, as investment froze pending the outcome. Ironically, a proposal purportedly intended to ‘maximize 5G potential’ could sideline a chunk of mid-band spectrum for half a decade or more during litigation and eventual re-farming – an ill-afforded pause when 5G deployment and private network momentum is needed now, not later,” wrote Bubley. 

Bubley is the founder and director of Disruptive Analysis with over 25 years of experience advising and speaking in the telecoms industry.

Read the column here.

###

The U.S. should defend, evolve and extend CBRS

RCR Wireless 

By: Dean Bubley, founder & director of Disruptive Analysis 

May 30, 2025

Some recent press articles and an open letter from Senator Cantwell to Defense Secretary Hegseth have suggested that the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) may be actively looking at a plan, originally advocated by AT&T, to change the nature of an important shared military/commercial spectrum band called CBRS (Citizens Broadband Radio Service). 

Forced relocation of CBRS licensees to other bands, and/or a fundamental change to the technical operations, would irreparably damage a growing industry and its ecosystem of enterprise and connectivity providers. It would extinguish competitive offerings and stifle the FCC’s successful “innovation band” concept based on shared spectrum. U.S. policymakers should listen to all stakeholders and do everything possible to protect the existing CBRS allocation and its technical characteristics. They should also recognize that the costs would likely far outweigh any probable auction receipts.

DoD’s reported proposal forms part of a wider desire by the mobile industry and parts of the administration to identify a so-called “spectrum pipeline” for clearance and future auction to cellular carriers for public 5G network capacity. In addition to the 3.55-3.7 GHz CBRS band, there are also efforts to clear and repurpose the lower 3 GHz band – despite its use for critical systems such as missile defense – and 7-8 GHz, which is also widely used by the military.

Read Dean’s full column in RCR Wireless.

###