en.Wedoany.com Reported - Google Cloud has announced it will gradually shut down its Spectrum Access System (SAS) platform, which is used to manage usage authorizations for the Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) spectrum in the United States, with plans to fully close this management platform next year.

In a "Retirement Notice" on its support page, the cloud computing giant wrote: "Starting June 10, 2026, we will no longer accept new customers. During the transition period, services for existing customers will remain fully operational and will be shut down on June 10, 2027." The page provides "migration steps" to help customers move their CBRS deployments to other management providers, including Federated Wireless, Red Technologies, Nokia, Sony, and Keybridge. Federated Wireless CEO Iyad Tarazi welcomed migrators on LinkedIn, stating that the company has successfully migrated over 180,000 devices across enterprise, service provider, industrial, education, and government networks, and as the only SAS provider with a nationwide sensor network covering all U.S. coastal areas, including Alaska, Hawaii, and U.S. territories, it is committed to supporting the long-term success of the CBRS ecosystem.

The background of the CBRS SAS (Spectrum Access System) stems from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopting rules in mid-2015 to reserve 150 megahertz of spectrum in the 3.5 GHz band to support new wireless use cases based on shared spectrum resources. This approach aims to open access to underutilized spectrum, most of which is held by government agencies, with the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) using it for naval ship radar and registered fixed satellite receiving stations, where actual usage is geographically sporadic but critical. The solution is to operate the SAS as a clearinghouse for spectrum usage management, functioning as an online platform where organizations can reserve spectrum access when needed and available. Access to this spectrum is established through a multi-tier access plan, including Tier 1 incumbent users (DoD) with "protected status," Tier 2 "Priority Access Licenses" (PAL), and Tier 3 "General Authorized Access" channels. The plan was approved in early 2020, with initial SAS administrators including CommScope, Federated Wireless, Google, and Sony.

Opinions on the effectiveness of the CBRS program vary. Spectrum deployments are primarily concentrated in private networks and some municipal smart infrastructure. A report commissioned by the wireless industry trade group CTIA (Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association) from Recon Analytics in late 2022 criticized the program as inefficient and wasteful of mid-band spectrum resources. Recon Analytics founder and chief analyst Roger Entner noted that actual studies show low utilization, low market demand, and a lack of innovative use cases. This insight is based on a comprehensive review of publicly available information since the band's commercialization. However, CBRS supporters have countered the report's claims. Companies and organizations including Amazon, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), Charter, Comcast, Federated Wireless, and Public Knowledge sent a letter to FCC leaders, stating that over 285,000 CBRS-compatible base station devices had been deployed at the time, with 10,000 from cellular operators, and the FCC had approved 187 CBRS base stations and 496 end-user client devices. Federated Wireless's Tarazi previously stated that the company manages approximately 45% of the over 400,000 CBRS-compatible devices on the market. Since then, the spectrum sharing initiative has been linked to the 6 GHz band, which the FCC approved in 2020 to open 1200 megahertz of spectrum for unlicensed Wi-Fi use, and approved a frequency coordination platform allowing Wi-Fi 6e and Wi-Fi 7 devices to utilize this spectrum pool.

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