As network technologies have advanced, CBRS — which stands for Citizens Broadband Radio Service — has become a trending topic in the telecommunications (telecom) space. Put simply, CBRS is a spectrum of radio frequencies that are suitable for deploying 4G LTE and 5G networks.
As a result, organizations that depend on high-speed wireless connectivity are particularly eager to take advantage of CBRS’s previously restricted frequency band to build private LTE networks.
The industries and use cases that stand to benefit from the security and reliability of private networks are broad, and include healthcare, manufacturing, agriculture, educational facilities, smart cities, retail, warehousing and supply chain, and industrial operations.
In this post, we’ll explain more about how CBRS is enabling the development of private LTE networks today. We’ll also explore:
Why enterprises are investing in building private LTE networks
What to look for when considering private LTE network providers
Which industries are already implementing use cases for private LTE
What Is CBRS?
Also known as the 3.5 GHz band or LTE band 48, CBRS represents radio frequencies from 3.5 GHz to 3.7 GHz. In the past, CBRS was only accessible to the U.S. federal government and fixed satellite services, but as of 2019, the “innovation band” became partially available for commercial use.
To protect mission-critical use cases, the FCC implemented a shared spectrum model for CBRS usage. Access to the CBRS spectrum is managed across three groups:
Tier 1 — reserved for incumbent users (primarily the U.S. Navy and satellite ground stations).
Tier 2 — available for enterprise users with priority access licenses (PALs).
Tier 3 — open to general authorized users (GAA) at no cost.
Industry observers have said that “CBRS will put enormous wireless networking power into the hands of organizations.” With private LTE networks, enterprises will be able to extend — and in some cases replace — the public 4G and 5G networks that lack the needed performance and reliability for today’s most advanced wireless use cases.
What Is Private LTE?
We’ve discussed the impact of CBRS licensing — but what is a private cellular network and why should enterprises care?
A private LTE network uses small cells, conceptually similar to Wi-Fi access points, to stand up a dedicated private wireless network that can cover tens of thousands of square feet — a smaller scale version of a public cellular network. Establishing an independent LTE network requires more time and resources than relying on existing public networks.
Private LTE vs Public LTE
You might wonder — why turn to private networks at all? After all, public LTE and Wi-Fi networks have become a necessity and even an expectation in modern-day life. Why are enterprises investing in building their own networks when they could take advantage of the networks that telecom giants have already built out?
For many enterprise organizations, wireless has become the “fourth utility” — a resource that’s as vital as power, water and Internet connectivity.
When public LTE and Wi-Fi networks aren’t available due to coverage limitations or aren’t working well because of capacity issues, data-driven operations and critical services grind to a halt.
To overcome this challenge, organizations in the U.S. are increasingly looking at the option of CBRS-based private cellular networks to meet their business connectivity needs. There are three common scenarios where public LTE and Wi-Fi are not ideal — when networks:
Have coverage limitations and don’t extend to the site in question.
Are not working well or are transmitting data slowly due to high levels of traffic.
Do not meet the appropriate security requirements for the application, use case or industry.
Private LTE vs Wi-Fi
While the underlying concepts and architecture of LTE and Wi-Fi networks are similar, the experience of using these two wireless technologies is quite different. Let’s discuss the key differences in performance and security.
LTE networks use radio wave frequencies that provide excellent coverage over a large surface area, with signals that can penetrate relatively dense materials. While Wi-Fi networks also use radio waves, their access points are designed for the short-range coverage commonly seen in homes or offices.
Even when you compare Wi-Fi 6 vs private LTE, the latter comes out on top in terms of performance, reliability and operational benefits. Private LTE offers faster transmission, higher bandwidth and better coverage, making it the better choice for enterprises that need:
Reliable, high-speed connections to transmit ongoing streams of data from IoT devices.
More control over roaming mobile devices to deliver uninterrupted handoffs between access point radios.
Secure, scalable networks that limit access to whitelisted devices, even in locations that are far away from centralized IT.
