CBRS Alliance and Wireless Innovation Forum Celebrate First Generation of Certified Devices

Devices from Ericsson, Nokia, Sercomm, and Ruckus Networks First in Ecosystem to Support Use of 3.5 GHz Band


SUNNYVALE, Calif. and WASHINGTON, Oct. 09, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, the CBRS Alliance and the Wireless Innovation Forum (WInnForum), jointly commended the industry-leading businesses that introduced the first set of Citizens Broadband Radio Service Devices (CBSDs) certified by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Ericsson, Nokia, Sercomm, and Ruckus Networks, an ARRIS company, achieved certification for the Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) band, representing momentum for a growing ecosystem of mobile operators, cable operators, managed service providers, private enterprises and more that see incredible value in utilizing shared spectrum for wireless connectivity.

To receive FCC certification, devices were tested against 47 CFR Part 96. Part of this testing requires demonstrating that a CBSD correctly communicates with a Spectrum Access System (SAS). The devices certified met this requirement by showing conformance with the WInnForum SAS to CBSD Interface Specification (WINNF-TS-0016) through successful testing against the WInnForum CBSD Test Specification (WINNF-TS-0122) at a WInnForum CBRS Approved Test Lab. In addition to FCC certification, these devices are also the first to receive OnGo Certification from the CBRS Alliance.

“The Wireless Innovation Forum is excited to congratulate these members on receiving their FCC equipment authorizations,” said Lee Pucker, CEO of the Wireless Innovation Forum. “This major milestone in the commercialization of the CBRS band represents the first of what we believe will be many more certifications announced over the next few months as the industry moves towards Initial Commercial Deployment.”

“FCC authorization forms the foundation for OnGo Certification, so we are extremely pleased to see the first products receiving their Part 96 grants,” said Alan Ewing, Executive Director, CBRS Alliance. “We wish to thank the FCC and WInnForum for their hard work and dedication in helping reach this important milestone and enabling CBRS Alliance to initialize the OnGo Certification Program.”

“Securing the FCC certification for Ericsson’s CBRS portfolio is another important step in the deployment of CBRS networks. CBRS will allow our customers to serve many use cases, including Mobile Offload, Fixed Wireless Access, Private LTE, Industrial IoT, and MVNO Offload," said Paul Challoner, VP of Network Product Solutions, Ericsson. 

“Nokia is proud to be one of the first to complete the FCC certification of our CBRS product lines. Nokia has been one of the driving forces behind the band and is commercializing the product line in readiness for mass deployment,” said Chris Stark, Head of Business Development, North America, Nokia and Chairman, CBRS Alliance. “We see immense value in leveraging OnGo technology for private LTE and neutral host environments and are seeing growing interest across industry sectors, including public venues, smart cities, enterprises, healthcare and more.”

“FCC certification of our CBSD is the end result of Sercomm’s years of work in various labs and field trials, and we are very excited to have this achievement,” said Ben Lin, Executive VP and CTO, Sercomm. “We hope that our efforts here advance the CBRS community one step closer to commercial readiness, and usher a new era of innovative networking and connectivity.” 

“Ruckus Networks believes this innovation band will open up compelling new use cases by enabling LTE technology to be deployed and operated in a cost effective and scalable manner,” said Mehmet Yavuz, CTO of Ruckus Networks, an ARRIS Company. “As one of the first companies to achieve FCC & OnGo certification for 3.5 GHz indoor and outdoor access points, we have been seeing extraordinary results in more than 20 OnGo trials across different verticals that are ready for initial commercial deployment and range from connectivity to automation use cases.”

The most recent updates on commercialization status of the CBRS Band can be found at https://cbrs.wirelessinnovation.org/cbrs-status-summary. Industry momentum and traction toward the commercialization of OnGo in the 3.5 GHz band can be found at www.cbrsalliance.org on LinkedIn and @OnGoWireless on Twitter.

About CBRS Alliance

The CBRS Alliance believes that LTE-based solutions in the 3.5 GHz band, utilizing shared spectrum, can enable both in-building and outdoor coverage and capacity expansion at massive scale. In order to maximize the full potential of spectrum sharing, the CBRS Alliance enables a robust ecosystem through the management of the OnGo brand, and the OnGo Certification Program.

About the Wireless Innovation Forum

Established in 1996, The Wireless Innovation Forum (SDR Forum Version 2.0) is a non-profit mutual benefit corporation dedicated to advocating for spectrum innovation and advancing radio technologies that support essential or critical communications worldwide. Members bring a broad base of experience in Software Defined Radio (SDR), Cognitive Radio (CR) and Dynamic Spectrum Access (DSA) technologies in diverse markets and at all levels of the wireless value chain to address emerging wireless communications requirements. To learn more about The Wireless Innovation Forum, its meetings and membership benefits, visit www.WirelessInnovation.org. Forum projects are supported by platinum sponsors Motorola SolutionsLeonardo and Thales.

CONTACTS
CBRS Alliance
Media & Analyst Relations
Caitlin Haskins, 10Fold Communications
CBRS@10fold.com
415-800-5369

Wireless Innovation Forum
Stephanie Hamill
stephanie.hamill@wirelessinnovation.org
(970) 290-9543