For Immediate Release

October 1, 2025

Contact: [email protected]

In case you missed it – At this week’s SCTE TechExpo25, Spectrum for the Future’s Policy Director Dave Wright led two panels highlighting the real-world applications of spectrum sharing under the Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) and the innovative solutions made possible with America’s “innovation band” from users like John Deere and the University of Notre Dame. The band, which is used by major American manufactures, hospitals, schools, farmers, and small businesses across rural communities, has created U.S. jobs and driven billions of dollars in investment across all 50 states.

In his first panel, Dave Wright spoke with Robin Colwell, Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of the National Economic Council, about the administration’s spectrum priorities and the importance of balancing the needs of various spectrum users. Colwell reiterated the administration’s commitment to expanding access to spectrum and how that leads to more competition and better connectivity for all.

“We are looking for win, win, win. We are looking to expand the pie and create more spectrum access for everyone across all of those different technologies,” said Colwell.

The second session, which featured a panel of industry stakeholders in Wi-Fi and shared spectrum solutions, emphasized how CBRS  promotes competition, generates efficiencies, and increases capacity—all factors that spur innovation and economic growth.

John Deere’s Spectrum Manager Mark Lewellen described the company’s private 5G—powered by CBRS—as “indisposable” to U.S.-based operations and game changing for the factory floor.

Dr. Monisha Ghosh, professor of electrical engineering at the University of Notre Dame, expanded further on the benefits of CBRS underscoring its unique ability to maximize resources and accommodate a diverse array of use cases in one shared band.  

“There’s a huge advantage that comes with sharing in the sense that you don’t have to clear out any of the incumbents, you don’t have to pay and wait for them to vacate the space. You can just layer on another use case on that same band…If we are intelligent about it, we can have Navy radars operate in the same band as CBRS. We can have fixed operate in the same band as unlicensed without the troubles of moving everything out. The lessons that we’ve learned, I think, is that this just works,” says Dr. Monisha Ghosh.

Watch both panels here to learn more about CBRS, a true American innovation, and the future of connectivity.