How Customer Feedback is Driving Innovation of Federated Wireless’s Next Generation Adaptive Network Planning Tools

Adaptive Network Planner blog

At Federated Wireless, understanding the bottom-line impact of maximizing CBRS value with enterprise network planning tools is a priority. To gain deeper insights, we recently conducted a survey of operations and engineering professionals. The results shed light on the critical needs and expectations that businesses have as they move forward with shared spectrum deployments.

One of the most prominent findings is that interference remains a top concern for 80% of respondents. Enterprises recognize that managing interference is crucial for maintaining network performance, and making having tools that support sophisticated channel planning is a must-have. Beyond interference, the demand for features like RF coverage analysis and data accuracy further demonstrates the emphasis on ensuring high-quality deployments with minimal downtime.

The survey also revealed strong momentum toward building out CBRS networks, with 85% of respondents planning to do so within the next year. The scale of these deployments varies, with nearly half of respondents intending to deploy around 500 CBSDs. Smaller-scale deployments are also common, with 44% of respondents to deploy fewer than 100 CBSDs. Meanwhile, 13% are gearing up for larger rollouts, planning to deploy between 500 and 1,000 CBSDs within a 12-month timeframe.

When it comes to using a CBRS planning tool, adoption is widespread. Only 17% of respondents indicated that they are unlikely to use a network planner, highlighting the importance of having the right tools in place to optimize design, deployment and ongoing management.

Interestingly, demand for Wi-Fi 6E planners remains undefined, suggesting this area may require further market education and maturation. As the technology and its applications evolve, we expect this to become a greater focus for many businesses.

We’re also proud to report that Federated Wireless’ Net Promoter Score (NPS) stands at 59, putting us in strong company alongside industry leaders such as Microsoft, Salesforce, and Atlassian. This high NPS reflects our commitment to delivering exceptional value and satisfaction to our customers.

As a primary spectrum provider, Federated Wireless is able to directly integrate actual shared spectrum data along with built-in BDC reporting, creating the unique accuracy and simplicity that our customers are looking for. As we further push the boundaries of innovation in network planning, the insights from our recent survey will be instrumental in guiding our development efforts. By integrating our expertise in shared spectrum with detailed RF environment visibility and applying AI and machine learning technologies, we aim to provide adaptive tools that help customers effectively future-proof their networks while supporting their mission-critical applications with confidence.

Decoding the FCC’s Recent NPRM: Strengthening CBRS for a More Connected Future

FCC CBRS

We’re pleased to share some important updates from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that underscore Federated Wireless’s commitment to delivering the most reliable and advanced wireless services. The FCC is taking proactive steps to enhance the Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS), to increase the performance, ease of use and management, and overall value of your connectivity solutions.

What’s Happening?

On June 13, 2024, FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel introduced a new initiative focused on advancing CBRS, particularly within the critical 3.5 GHz band—a cornerstone of modern wireless communication. The FCC is exploring improvements in four primary areas; user protection, power limits, harmonization with adjacent bands, and fostering innovation through increased flexibility of use. They are actively seeking input from experts, industry leaders, and stakeholders in each of these areas.

Why Is This Important?

This initiative is designed with you, the end user in mind. It aims to ensure that CBRS-powered wireless networks not only meet today’s demands but are also prepared for tomorrow’s innovations such as AI, Augmented Connected Workforce and 6G. By focusing on expanding and refining the successful CBRS framework as well as the Spectrum Access System (SAS) and Environment Sensing Capability (ESC) technologies that enable shared access, the FCC is demonstrating its commitment to unlocking opportunities for expanded use of the airwaves.

Key Focus Areas

  1. Protecting Incumbent Users
    • The FCC is exploring ways to enhance the accuracy and fidelity of incumbent protection methods, ensuring that federal incumbents continue to be fully protected.
  2. Maximizing Technology Benefit
    • The FCC is evaluating whether the current base station (CBSD) and End User Device (UE) power limits continue to strike the right balance between efficient use of spectrum and enabling robust use of the band and enabling a wide variety of use cases.  The FCC is also exploring alignment of equipment emissions limits with adjacent bands.  Any updates that may occur should help to maximize the economies of scale users realize when they deploy in the band.
  3. Supporting Innovation
    • The FCC is considering opportunities to introduce further flexibility in use of CBRS such as offshore operations and even drone connectivity in contained spaces. These advancements could open up exciting new possibilities, particularly in expanded use of CBRS for private wireless.
  4. Fostering Cooperation
    • The FCC is working to create a more harmonious and efficient spectrum sharing environment by exploring potential updates to the coexistence mechanisms Federated Wireless uses to manage spectrum access, as well as techniques to provide synchronization of adjacent networks

What’s Next?

We are carefully reviewing these proposed changes and will be providing our feedback to the FCC. Our primary objective is to ensure that any updates directly benefit you, enhancing your experience while maintaining the high standards of service you’ve come to expect.

What Does This Mean for You?

At this time, there is no immediate impact on your service. These updates are part of a thoughtful, long-term plan to make wireless networks better for everyone. We are committed to keeping you informed every step of the way and will share any exciting new developments that could positively impact your service. Once these changes are approved, we will work diligently on a development and transition plan that minimizes any potential disruptions to your current services.

We’re Here for You

Your satisfaction and peace of mind is our top priorities. If you have any questions or concerns, our team is here to support you at every step. We are dedicated to ensuring you continue to receive the best possible service as we embrace the future of wireless technology together.

Thank you for your continued trust and partnership. We are honored to serve you and look forward to delivering the most advanced and reliable wireless services available.

Warm regards,

Iyad Tarazi

CEO

Unlocking the Value of Generative AI in Wireless 5G Networks: The Federated Wireless Approach

By: Iyad Tarazi, CEO of Federated Wireless

As an innovator and leader in Shared Spectrum technology, Federated Wireless is at the forefront of advancements in the wireless 5G industry, including the Generative AI (Artificial Intelligence) revolution that is transforming our approach to spectrum management, network optimization, customer experience, and overall business growth.

Joining Forces with Nvidia

In our quest to remain at the cutting edge of AI and 5G innovation, Federated Wireless is proud to have joined the Nvidia Inception program, a prestigious initiative that supports pioneering and innovative AI startups. This collaboration with Nvidia provides us with access to state-of-the-art AI tools and resources, further enhancing our ability to deliver top-tier AI-driven solutions in the wireless 5G industry.

Network Optimization and Efficiency

Federated Wireless is pioneering the use of Generative AI to enhance network performance in Shared Spectrum environments. We recently launched our Adaptive Network Planning tool, focusing on accurate, real-time, and adaptive network planning and predictive analytics. Our AI-driven solutions offer several key advantages:

  1. Real-time Modeling Accuracy: Generative AI enables us to predict spectrum demand and allocate resources intelligently, considering all live interference and incumbent data from the spectrum management system. This drives fast, accurate coverage, capacity, and QoS modeling, ensuring optimal network performance and accuracy.
  1. Proactive Planning Capabilities: By foreseeing potential spectrum shortages or network issues before they occur, our AI algorithms facilitate proactive planning that keeps up-to-date with radio and technology evolution. This proactive approach reduces downtime, lowers maintenance costs, and extends the lifespan of our network infrastructure.
  1. Predictive Analytics: Our AI-driven solutions provide valuable insights to optimize performance and coverage as the RF environment and network evolve. By optimizing network operations, we contribute to significant cost savings.
  1. Easy Workflow Integration: High-value tools like the Adaptive Network Planner provide utility across multiple business functions, including sales, marketing, operations, and customer support. Our AI-driven solution comes with powerful APIs that allow for easy integration with existing network and business operations systems.
  1. Agility and Scalability: AI enables greater agility in responding to market changes and scaling operations. As demand for 5G services grows, our AI-driven automation and optimization ensure that our networks can scale efficiently to meet customer needs.

Partnering to Forge the Future

Federated Wireless is committed to leading the wireless 5G business into the future by harnessing the power of Generative AI. Our innovative approach to Shared Spectrum, coupled with AI-driven solutions and our collaboration with Nvidia, allows us to drive advancements in network optimization, customer experience, and business growth. By embracing Generative AI, Federated Wireless is well-positioned to deliver exceptional value to our customers and stakeholders, ensuring we remain at the forefront of the AI revolution.

Read more about our Adaptive Planning Tool

Empowering Enterprise and Fixed Wireless: Federated Wireless AFC Unleashes the Potential of 6 GHz

Federated Wireless AFC Unleashes the Potential of 6 GHz

After much anticipation, the launch of Standard Power (SP) operation for unlicensed devices in the 6 GHz band under Automated Frequency Coordination (AFC) has arrived—providing the performance and extended range needed to supercharge enterprise and fixed wireless connectivity applications.

Federated Wireless has closely collaborated with global regulators and industry leaders for more than five years to establish policies and develop a shared 6 GHz band ecosystem, enabling this significant advancement.

The culmination of this collaboration is Federated Wireless’ recent AFC certification and commercial launch in the US, with planned launches in other countries as certification standards are finalized. Given the significant pent-up demand for 6 GHz SP operation, customers across the US have already harnessed the Federated Wireless AFC to access substantial 850 MHz of pristine new spectrum.

Unlocking the 6 GHz Band with AFC

Engineered for superior performance and scalability, the high-availability, cloud-native Federated Wireless AFC platform fulfills the SP promise by delivering increased range and faster speeds. Leveraging proprietary methods, the Federated Wireless AFC maximizes spectrum availability for unlicensed devices while fully safeguarding incumbent 6 GHz users from interference.

The exceptional capability of the Federated Wireless AFC, along with the company’s extensive experience in shared spectrum solutions, has enabled leading wireless solution providers including Cisco, HPE Aruba Networking, MediaTek, and Tarana to already announce commercial AFC agreements with Federated Wireless.

Accelerating Enterprise Wi-Fi 6E and 7 deployments

Under AFC control, enterprise Wi-Fi 6E and 7 devices can now operate outdoors, driving wide-spread connectivity in large public spaces and venues such as stadiums, arenas, conference centers and pop-up entertainment locations. AFC control also delivers a significant increase for indoor uses—63 times more than was previously possible, allowing 6 GHz APs to provide coverage in challenging indoor areas such as those with high ceilings, long corridors, inside and around stairwells, and throughout warehouses and auditoriums.

For more details on enterprise use cases, see this Cisco Community blog: Why we need 6GHz Standard Power and AFC

Delivering Low-Cost Fixed Wireless Connectivity

6 GHz spectrum and SP levels are also well suited for Fixed Wireless use cases.  Accessing the Federated Wireless AFC cost-effectively provides high-performance, high-capacity wireless broadband to remote areas, underserved subscribers and places where running fiber is cost prohibitive or simply not an option.

What to Consider in an AFC Partner

Not all AFC providers and systems are created equal. You’ll want to consider the whole package including shared spectrum, regulatory and interoperability experience and expertise, onboarding services, SLA management, integration services, support options, planning tools and more.

Today, Federated Wireless manages 3.5 GHz CBRS shared spectrum access for over 180,000 devices through our award-winning Spectrum Access System (SAS). Leveraging this experience and expertise for AFC, we provide a proven, cutting-edge platform that exceeds operational requirements, delivers highly efficient database management, and adheres to the most stringent security standards for smooth and reliable implementation of unlicensed device SP operation in the 6 GHz band.

Federated Wireless also manages SLAs, maintains a 24/7/365 Network Operations Center (NOC) with live support, and has a history of delivering 99.999% availability for cloud native applications. In addition to an architecture tested to manage millions of devices for performance and scale, our AFC system utilizes an extensive Geospatial Data Repository and proprietary database of incumbent receiver radio and antenna details to optimize spectrum availability.

We understand that our customers’ success hinges on the reliability of our shared spectrum solutions. That’s why Federated Wireless is an early-to-market partner for 6 GHz enterprise and fixed wireless customers, offering high-availability and low-latency spectrum access, professional services, and spectrum planning to easily improve manageability and troubleshooting.

Tune in to the latest episodes of Cisco’s podcast, where Cisco Champions and Federated Wireless unravel the mysteries behind this cutting-edge technology. Discover how AFC plays a crucial role in supercharging wireless communication. Listen here for insightful exploration!

 

By: Sam MacMullan

Shaping the Wireless Future: Insights from Our MWC Barcelona 2024 Panel (Part 2)

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This article is part two of a two-part series recapping our panel at Mobile World Congress.

A New Horizon for Connectivity

Andrew Wiedlea of Energy Sciences Network (ESnet) provided a unique perspective from the national science sector, where neutral host networks enable a more efficient use of shared resources, and massive data production meets the expansive capacity of private wireless for environmental sensing and other scientific endeavors.

Wiedlea, who is associated with a national science resource—the high-speed optical network that interlinks Department of Energy labs and facilities—painted a picture of a world where science and connectivity coalesce to drive progress.

The Public Sector Edge

Wiedlea highlighted how neutral host stands to be a game-changer in the public sector, where it serves as the key to unlocking the efficient use of distributed resources. Funded by entities like the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy, neutral host creates points of presence that allow for more effective peering and collaboration among various entities. This mechanism is set to dramatically enhance data movement efficiency across networks.

Data, Sensors, and the Evolution of Science

The essence of Wiedlea’s vision lies in the industrialization of science—a shift from traditional methods to massive data production and analysis. He forecasts the migration from optical data transport to wireless sensing, particularly for environmental applications. Currently, many sensors are isolated, but the trend is towards interconnectedness, following the same explosive growth that has been observed in the field of science and technology.

Self-Driving Labs and Environmental Sensing

Imagine labs that move and measure the world autonomously—this is where Wiedlea sees the next leap. Such ‘self-driving’ field labs would leverage the massive array of wireless sensors connected to high-performance computing resources. This integration allows for real-time data analysis and high-fidelity simulations, enhancing the capability to draw actionable insights from environmental data.

Complementary Technologies and the Data Deluge

Complementary technologies, like biodegradable sensors, will proliferate, negating the need for recovery or tracking, while quantum sensing will elevate data transmission rates. The decline in costs for technologies like bio assays and LIDAR means that networks will have to handle an ever-increasing deluge of data.

AI, Compute, and Storage Transformation

On the computational front, Wiedlea anticipates a surge in AI applications tailored for automated data analytics and error reduction. Such AI would be trained across various data domains to make precise inferences. This aligns with the transformation in the nature of networks, where the convergence of compute and storage needs will be essential.

The Essential Role of Private Wireless

Private wireless networks stand at the core of this envisioned future. By facilitating the distribution of data storage and computational tasks, they enable processing at the edge—closest to where data is collected. This not only minimizes latency but also amplifies the efficiency of data-driven decision-making processes.

The Maturing Market and Its Societal Impact

The panelists agreed that neutral host networks and private wireless open up avenues for expanded coverage and educational equity, addressing the digital divide. These networks enable better connectivity for community outreach and bring students into the innovative process.

Iyad outlined the edge applicability of private wireless, which, when AI-enabled, fulfills several roles from interoperability between public and private networks to performance analytics. This technological growth is vital for supporting network management with advanced capabilities.

Jonathan Polly from Cal Poly spoke on enabling emergency services across campus irrespective of the carrier, demonstrating the inclusivity that private wireless offers.

The MWC Barcelona 2024 panel not only emphasized the current significance of private wireless networks but also cast a vision for their future impact. As industries adopt these networks, we can expect a surge in digital inclusivity, industry 4.0 applications, and an acceleration of AI and edge computing solutions.

The conversation is far from over; it’s just the beginning. The continued exploration and investment in private wireless technology herald a new era of connectivity—smarter, faster, and more equitable than ever before.

 

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Shaping the Wireless Future: Insights from Our MWC Barcelona 2024 Panel (Part 1)

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This article is part one of a two-part series.

The future of connectivity beckons with the innovative strides in private wireless networks, as discussed at our recent panel at Mobile World Congress (MWC) Barcelona 2024. This event, a convergence of thought leaders from Federated Wireless, Intel, AWS, and academia, explored the trajectory of private wireless, neutral host, and AI, as well as their transformative roles across various industries.

Drivers Behind Private Wireless Adoption: The Enterprise Push for Transformation

Our CEO, Iyad Tarazi, pointed out that the adoption of private wireless networks is fueled by the growing data needs of mechanization and automation, particularly in industrial sectors. The availability of data for inventory management and the advancement of higher education and research institutions are also propelling this adoption forward.

The adoption of private wireless, particularly 5G, in enterprises is driven by an essential shift towards digital transformation—a journey motivated by the pursuit of higher productivity, lower costs, better customer experiences, and enhanced employee environments. This transformational shift is fueled by the vast amounts of data generated across various facets of a business, including production, employee engagement, and customer interactions.

Bhupesh Agarwal articulated this, noting that enterprises are not just looking for new technology for its own sake. The inadequacy of current technologies such as Ethernet and Wi-Fi to meet evolving business demands is pushing enterprises towards private 5G solutions. The transition is not spurred by the hype surrounding private 5G but rather by tangible business needs that existing infrastructures fail to address.

Crucially, the movement towards digital transformation transcends industry boundaries, becoming a universal journey for businesses aiming to remain competitive. Enterprises are coming to the realization that if they want to harness their data effectively and make real-time decisions, their technological backbones need to be robust and versatile. It is these business use cases—grounded in operational efficiency and strategic advantage—that are the real drivers behind the adoption of private 5G networks.

Moreover, Bhupesh pointed out the role of financial prudence in this transition. With CFOs scrutinizing the total cost of ownership (TCO), the value proposition of private wireless must be compelling. It must deliver on the promise of productivity without exorbitant costs.

When the conversation around private wireless began circling around 2018/2019, it was largely centered on industry 4.0. However, the use cases have since evolved. Now, they include basic connectivity to improve productivity—consider that a significant number of warehouses suffer from lack of connectivity or insufficient coverage. There’s also Edge AI, where enterprises seek to leverage the data they possess to enhance decision-making processes. And not least, there’s the concept of the neutral host, which addresses in-building connectivity challenges and is vital for enabling digital transformation in areas traditionally difficult to cover.

Private wireless networks are proving to be the reliable backbone necessary for these enterprises to implement transformative solutions and thrive in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.

Transforming Industries with Private Wireless

Chris McKenna from AWS discussed how private wireless is just one component of a broader solution set required by enterprises to address their challenges. Once implemented, this future-proof technology paves the way for a myriad of applications, with AI and real-time edge AI becoming key transformation drivers.

Craig Cowden from WWT highlighted the crucial verticals ripe for private wireless adoption, such as higher education, healthcare, manufacturing, and defense. He emphasized neutral host, a “killer” application that solves in-building connectivity issues often seen in healthcare facilities, and that opens the door to further digital transformation opportunities.

 

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