CableLabs Joins Shared Spectrum Groups

CableLabs, the U.S. cable TV research and development organization, is taking some steps that

Indicate how U.S. cable operators will approach acquisition and use of mobile spectrum.

Liberty Global and CableLabs have joined the MulteFire Alliance, an independent consortium dedicated to developing standards  to ensure that next-generation LTE mobile standards are compatible with shared and unlicensed spectrum, including Wi-Fi, important to cable operators who will use hotspots to support their mobile services..

“This step will arm the cable industry with a new wireless technology that builds on our success in providing Wi-Fi and mobile services,” said Ralph Brown, CTO of CableLabs.

MulteFire will operate entirely in unlicensed or shared spectrum, so that cable operators without licensed mobile spectrum can use Wu-Fi to support mobile network services and access.

“By joining the MulteFire Alliance, we are driving the future of wireless for our customers,” said said Balan Nair, CTO of Liberty Global.

Currently, the MulteFire Alliance is working to adapt 3GPP-based mobile wireless standards for shared and unlicensed spectrum so that the technology is broadly available and fairly coexists with Wi-Fi and other technologies.

Significantly, MulteFire does not require users to own licensed spectrum at all. The advantages are obvious for any mobile service provider hoping to use a “Wi-Fi-first” access method.

With a big footprint of hotspots, a mobile service provider using wholesale mobile network access could save money by directly reducing the amount of wholesale bandwidth it has to purchase.

Also, CableLabs has joined the CBRS Alliance founded by Google, Qualcomm, Intel, Nokia, Ruckus and Federated Wireless.

The Citizens’ Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) represents the shared use of 150 MHz of spectrum in the 3.5 GHz band (3.55-3.7 GHz).

CableLabs is clear about the advantages it sees: “With up to 150 MHz of free spectrum available, cable operators can deploy LTE (Long Term Evolution)based solutions for the first time without having to acquire mobile spectrum,” said Pete Smyth, CableLabs VP.

The CBRS Alliance believes that LTE-based solutions in the CBRS band, utilizing shared spectrum, can enable both in-building and outdoor coverage and capacity expansion at massive scale.