Northern California-based Cal.net has selected Nokia and ExteNet Systems to deliver a 3.5GHz Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) network, which will deliver internet speeds of up to 100Mbps/20Mbps (down/uplink) to customers in rural and underserved regions. The buildout is underway with most of the work planned for completion in the first four years of the agreement. Nokia is the primary supplier of equipment, including microwave radios, IP routers and the AirScale RAN solution. ExteNet is responsible for the design, build and operation of network, while also providing a hosted IP core service.
Cal.net claims that the network represents one of the first deployments of CBRS technology in the US. The network will utilise the shared 3.5GHz CBRS spectrum band, which was previously restricted to Navy and Department of Defense use.
In March this year the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has confirmed that it had rescheduled its planned auction of frequencies in the 3550MHz-3650MHz (3.5GHz) band as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The spectrum sale – which had been scheduled to commence on 25 June – will now start on 23 July.