Citizens Broadband Radio Service | Corning

Meet OnGo – CBRS for IT Managers

Meet OnGo – CBRS for IT Managers

What is OnGo?

OnGo, or CBRS, is an innovative spectrum-sharing citizens broadband radio service in the United States that offers greater control, coverage, convenience, and cost savings for large enterprise owners. This technology enables private LTE networks for buildings or geographic areas, without subscribing to mobile operator services.

Paired with Wi-Fi, CBRS is an outstanding option for meeting ever-increasing wireless demand, as part of your complete communications solution. Centrally regulated and software controlled, CBRS continuously manages underutilized channels in ITU Band 48 to provide consistent, reliable wireless connectivity to businesses and their users. Simply install CBRS-compatible hardware as part of your network and subscribe for access.

The CBRS ecosystem is managed by the Federal Communications Commission, the Wireless Innovation Forum, and the CBRS Alliance.

Optimize your network. Contact us today to learn more about the Corning CBRS solution.

CBRS Frequently Asked Questions

  • What kind of businesses can benefit from CBRS?

    Large enterprises, where reliable wireless connectivity is mission critical, benefit most from CBRS. Here are a few examples:

    • Production facilities with machine-to-machine communication needs.
    • Airport back-office and security operations requiring private networks.
    • Oil refineries where installing network cables is cost prohibitive.
  • What spectrum has been allocated to CBRS?

    3.55-3.7 GHz, also identified as ITU Band 48.

  • Who manages the spectrum for the United States?

    A cloud service called Spectrum Access System (SAS) manages requests and grants spectrum based on fifteen 10 MHz-wide channels. There are many providers of SAS services for organizations to choose from.

  • What does SAS do?

    SAS manages spectrum grants in the following priority order:

    • Incumbents: Naval radar and fixed satellite services.
    • Priority Access Licenses (PAL) that are guaranteed and reliable: 3.55-3.65 GHz, geographic license by county.
    • General Authorized Access (GAA), ad-hoc grants, like Wi-Fi: 3.55-3.7 GHz, any open channel that is not shared by nearby CBRS networks.

    SAS channel grants take geographic location and infrastructure radio information into account so different CBRS networks can be assigned channels that won’t interfere with each other.

    SAS has its own network for Environmental Sensing Capability (ESC) to detect incumbent traffic and protect it by dynamically shifting PAL/GAA traffic out of the way of the incumbents. For example, naval radar, when activated, is detected by SAS ESC and triggers affected CBRS networks to shift channels.

  • How can my company access CBRS spectrum?

    You don’t need to do anything to gain GAA usage. If you currently have or are installing CBRS infrastructure equipment, it will automatically access GAA for you via the SAS.

  • CBRS will be mission critical for my organization. Can I be assured of getting spectrum?

    Yes. If you need guaranteed spectrum, you can acquire a PAL license from an FCC auction or sublease from an existing PAL license holder. The CBRS infrastructure must be provisioned with the PAL information before connecting to the SAS.

  • What is private LTE?

    It’s a closed LTE network that supports associated devices that can only attach to that network. A private LTE network has its own core network and SIMs that operate independent of mobile operators. Devices linked to the private network are invisible to mobile operators.

CBRS Quick Facts

CBRS Quick Facts

Mobile operators can use CBRS.
The CBRS band is open to all organizations and wireless/wired operators.

CBRS can be used indoors and outdoors.
Indoor systems have a 30 dBm EIRP* and outdoor systems have a 47 dBm EIRP.
*EIRP is the maximum power at the antenna output

CBRS does not replace Wi-Fi.
LTE and Wi-Fi each have their own strengths, and both will continue to be present in enterprise networking.

Corning manufactures CBRS infrastructure.
The Enterprise RAN (E-RAN) product family supports CBRS for both service providers and private LTE. You can learn more here: www.corning.com/eran

Mobile devices do support CBRS.
Many smartphones, dongles, IoT devices, and mobile Wi-Fi hotspots support CBRS. There’s a partial list that can be viewed at www.cbrsalliance.org/certification/

Key CBRS Terms

Key CBRS Terms

CBSD
The Citizens Broadband Radio Services device (CBSD) is the component of CBRS infrastructure that requests spectrum from the SAS. It also responds to the SAS if the ESC decides it is potentially in conflict with an incumbent.

EDGE Computing
Part of cloud or local applications that interact with attached devices to reduce latency or large data flows.

Enterprise Applications
On-premise customer applications that are reached by an edge computing platform’s local breakout function.

EPC
Evolved Packet Core (EPC) is the mobile operator or private LTE core network. It is composed of the EPC and other sub-systems at the heart of the cellular network.

E-RAN
Enterprise radio access network (E-RAN) is Corning’s in-building small cell product family composed of a services node and managing up to 125 radio nodes.

ESC
Environmental sensing capability (ESC) is a national network that is part of the SAS. It detects incumbent traffic in the CBRS spectrum, like naval radar, and assures that no nearby CBRS infrastructure is conflicting with it.

Radio Node
Radio that supports CBRS spectrum and is managed by the services node.

S1
Encrypted LTE core connection from CBRS infrastructure to the operator or private LTE EPC.

SAS
Spectrum Access System (SAS) that manages spectrum available to CBRS infrastructure