DoD’s latest spectrum proposal is not good for CBRS

AT&T floated a proposal in fall 2024 to move the Citizens Broadband Radio Services from the middle of the 3 GHz band to the lower part of the band, and it looks like the Department of Defense is on board with that plan, according to New Street Research analysis. Under its proposal, AT&T called on the Federal Communications Commission to move CBRS from 3.55-3.7 GHz to the 3.1-3.3 GHz band, upending CBRS so that wireless carriers like AT&T could move in—after bidding and paying for it through an auction, which would help pay for the relocation of the incumbents. The DoD's spectrum plan, which is being circulated around Washington, would move CBRS licensees from the middle part of the band to the 3.1-3.4 GHz band, freeing up 100 MHz of spectrum to be auctioned, according to New Street. It’s not unheard of for the government to reallocate spectrum from one set of users to a different set of users. But it’s hard to come up with an example where the government changed the license terms of one set of users in favor of a competitor in another set of users, said NSR analyst Blair Levin.