Network Builder News 5/8/18 ( previous newsletters )
CBRS brands itself OnGo; Corning demos private LTE
The CBRS Alliance hopes its new name for the 3.5 GHz spectrum band will become as familiar as Wi-Fi. OnGo is the moniker chosen by the industry association to label equipment that will operate in the shared spectrum between 3550 and 3700 MHz. The CBRS Alliance says the OnGo label will signify FCC certification as well as interoperability with other OnGo-branded equipment, regardless of the manufacturer.

For real estate professionals, consistent branding should increase comfort levels when it comes to investing in wireless technologies. That's important to the members of the CBRS Alliance because these companies plan to target enterprise customers as well as service providers. The world's largest commercial real estate service firm, CBRE, is fully behind OnGo.

"OnGo will allow me to more easily articulate the many innovative business opportunities that will unfold as a result of opening the 3.5 GHz band for commercial sharing, significantly streamlining conversations within the real estate industry," said Cris Kimbrough, SVP of buiding technology services for CBRE.

At this week's annual meeting of the CBRS Alliance, Corning is demonstrating a private LTE network using CBRS. The network uses access points and an on-premise eNodeB made by Corning's SpiderCloud Wireless, and a dedicated, virtualized core network developed by Druid Software . Corning says it will partner with Druid to bring a private LTE offering to the U.S. market.

Analysts who track CBRS note that several hurdles remain before the technology will be commercially deployed. The Federal Communications Commission has not even decided yet how it will auction this spectrum, but the agency will make some bands available on an unlicensed basis later this year.

At this time there are no smartphones in the market that can support CBRS. Verizon has said it expects a CBRS-ready handset in its lineup this year, but has not named the manufacturer. iPhone support for CBRS would be a big win for the wireless carriers since iPhone sales are typically strong in the fourth quarter and seeding the market with CBRS phones would enable the carriers to integrate this spectrum into their networks and free up more licensed spectrum. However, the only chipmaker to announce a CBRS modem to date is Qualcomm, and Apple's relationship with Qualcomm is not good.

Although FirstNet's early builder program provided a look at how first responders can use dedicated spectrum, the official Band 14 network operated by AT&T is just starting to roll out. AT&T says more than 600 agencies in 40 states have already subscribed, and last month it showed FirstNet to the world during the Boston Marathon. Read More .

ZTE export ban hits Gogo Wireless, could create opening for Google
Gogo Wireless is one of the first companies to explain to investors how the U.S. government sanctions on ZTE will impact its business. During the company's recent quarterly earnings call, its new CEO Oakleigh Thorne told investors that ZTE is "a major supplier to Gogo for our NextGen ATG system and ... helped us build and now helps us maintain our original ATG network."

Analyst Robert Gutman of Guggenheim Securities says Gogo will likely face shipment delays and higher component costs if it is forced to find a new supplier. The U.S. Commerce Department has banned American companies from doing business with ZTE for the next seven years after learning that ZTE apparently failed to discipline employees who sold sensitive American technology to Iran. ZTE is asking the U.S. government to reconsider the ban.

Gogo's news comes as Google is eyeing the in-flight connectivity space. The search engine giant is reportedly eyeing Nokia's cellular in-flight connectivity business.

Gogo is one of several U.S. companies that will be impacted. In addition to ZTE's U.S. customers, component makers that supply ZTE (Acacia, Lumentum, Finisar) will also be hurt by the ban.

Meanwhile ZTE's competitors could of course be helped. Analysis of the market for remote radio units and antenna radio systems shows ZTE with the second largest market share worldwide, a position the company is unlikely to hold as it loses access to U.S. chipsets.
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