Institute for Telecommunication Sciences / Research / Radio Frequency Measurement / Spectrum Monitoring / Monitoring to Quantify Spectrum Occupancy/Usage

Monitoring in the 3.5 GHz CBRS Band

In the 3.55–3.70 GHz Citizen Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) band, Federal maritime radars are beginning to share spectrum with new commercial wireless systems. To support this transition, the ITS Spectrum Monitoring program published a report on measured 3.5 GHz occupancy in 2018 and 2019 from four coastal locations to establish a baseline. The figure below shows measured mean monthly band occupancies in 3.55 – 3.65 GHz at four locations in 2019. These plots illustrate primarily incumbent occupancy of the bands prior to CBRS deployments. Future measurements could be used to monitor entrant activities to assure compliance and support enforcement activities.

2019 monthly mean band occupancy for 3.55−3.65 GHz at threshold L = -88 dBm. Light gray vertical bars indicate months when zero measurements were acquired. Months with no bar indicate that measurement were made and no signals were observed above the threshold.

For more information about this project, contact Linh Vu.