The Wireless Innovation Forum, which developed the spectrum sharing standards under which CBRS operates, aims to develop new approaches for more dynamic, adaptive and real-time spectrum sharing.

To take on this task, WInnForum has set up the new Highly Dynamic Spectrum Sharing Task Group.

“The goal of this new group is to basically start where we are today and find a path that can lead us to spectrum-sharing systems that can operate in … much more complex environments,” said Google’s Andrew Clegg, CTO of WInnForum and chair of the new group, in a podcast interview. He added that WInnForum’s working group hopes to take the expertise it gained developing CBRS’ three-tier sharing framework specifications and automatic frequency coordination (AFC)-based sharing in the 6 GHz band and use them to meet the requirements for next-generation spectrum sharing in time to support the U.S. government’s desire for a dynamic spectrum-sharing lunar landing demonstration in late 2025.

According to WInnForum, the working group’s work will be done in two phases. The first phase will analyse the problem, including which existing systems need to be shared, and Clegg said the group hopes to produce results in this regard within a few months. The second phase will examine frameworks that support the identified requirements, with a technical report expected in early 2025. Contributors known so far include CommScope, Federated Wireless, Nokia, Sony and the Wireless Internet Service Providers Association (WISPA).

“The purpose of this project is to start with the best practices identified in CBRS spectrum sharing and then try to simplify and optimize those practices for future applications, including the 3.1 GHz band,” Clegg said.

WInnForum’s move comes as part of the U.S. government’s efforts to develop a dynamic spectrum sharing framework, led by the Department of Defense and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). The two agencies, along with industry and academic partners, plan to develop and test cutting-edge approaches to dynamic spectrum sharing over 12 to 18 months starting in April 2024. They hope to pave a solid path to opening up the lower 3 GHz band and establish technologies that will enable sharing across other bands as well.

If the United States succeeds in developing the fundamental technology for adaptive coexistence of government and non-government networks and users across different frequency bands, this capability is seen as a tremendous potential advantage in both military and economic competition.

“We’re doing it right on 3.1-3.45 … we can unlock other parts of the spectrum as well. And that’s something our competitors can’t do,” said John Sherman, the Defense Department’s chief information officer, during an event in Washington, D.C., earlier this year hosted by the telecom operator advocacy group CTIA. “Think about what that means for us in other parts of the spectrum if we can unlock it and use it in ways we haven’t been able to before.”

The Moonshot project aims to develop a next-generation spectrum sharing capability, including a prototype system; improve CBRS and update propagation models and spectrum sensing; consider the different economic incentives that would come with different sharing approaches, and still make spectrum-related investments worthwhile for the telecom industry. Matthew Pearl, director and special adviser for emerging technologies at the White House National Security Council, said at the CTIA event earlier this year that the work would also need to improve the sharing capability of existing commercial networks, possibly with integrated base station sensors to detect existing operations and possibly also leveraging Open RAN and the RAN Intelligent Controller so that new technologies can be rolled out quickly and efficiently and ensure coexistence between services.

WinnForum invited interested parties to register for the CBRS Committee meeting on September 11 at the Google office in Reston, Virginia.

For a different approach to mid-band coexistence, watch RCR Wireless News’ upcoming webinar with Spectrum Effect, AT&T and MITRE. More information and registration available here.