Discussing the Innovation in the Innovation Band

The Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS), which is also being called the “Innovation Band” was setup last year in the United States. This band represents a fundamental shift in FCC’s approach to Spectrum Management, with the potential for the more agile and flexible channel allocation approach taken here becoming a model for other bands likely to be opened up in the future. The band also represents a technological leap inasmuch as the original users of these bands will continue to remain in the band as Incumbents, while newer services being offered through the CBRS would be secondary. Protection mechanisms are built in such that the Incumbent and the Incumbent’s communications are protected from disruptive interference from the secondary. Thus, the CBRS is another definite step towards an embrace of Spectrum Sharing through the use of Dynamic Spectrum Access and Cognitive Radio Technologies. The Innovation band is so called because in theory it is designed to be a flexible spectrum band that allows for the rapid deployment of newer, innovative technologies, without having to go through a prolonged regulatory process. Additionally, it has the potential to level the playing field, because the existing regulatory environment tends to favor players who have been in business for a while, and who are thus able to both have a voice in policy making as well as have the resources necessary (ex: regulatory experience; Capital to participate in auctions) to get access to Spectrum. The new band is more like a First Come First Served as far as access to the Spectrum is concerned. In this paper, we analyze to what extent the Innovation band, as designed in FCC’s NPRM, has the potential to be truly innovative, and to what extent it affords opportunities for new players. We analyze a number of key questions in detail, examine the potential impediments to the band being truly innovative and discuss what steps can be taken to alleviate some of these potential impediments. These questions relate to both the technical advancement as well as the economic aspects of the Innovation band. To what extend does the Innovation band leverage the state of the art? What are the implications of the Band Plan as proposed by the FCC? Are there missed opportunities in not having a technically feasible, true 3-tier system? To what extend does multi-tier access support the goal of Innovation as well as that of Spectrum Sharing? Is the Spectrum Database the right mechanism for Spectrum Awareness? Is a Spectrum Database too restrictive as far as supporting Spectrum Sharing is concerned? To what extent does the Innovation band level the playing field? What barriers exist for new players in the CBRS? How does the Innovation band align with a mission of “serving the greater good?” What further steps are possible towards fostering the greater good? We present results based on agent modeling on certain questions such as the Band Plan and Spectrum Awareness. In conclusion, we find that the Innovation band falls short in its goal of fostering innovation, although it is a great step in that direction. We suggest steps towards furthering the goal of innovation, based upon existing research, modeling and conclusions drawn from the analysis of the questions raised in this paper.