The Future of Private Networks

A new study by the Department of Defense (DOD) has reignited the debate about the extent to which military spectrum in the prime 3 GHz band can be cleared for auction to mobile carriers or, instead, shared on a more localized basis with thousands of enterprises and public institutions seeking to deploy private networks. Nearly a decade ago the Federal Communications Commission reconciled these competing needs by authorizing the Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS), an innovative sharing framework that protects Navy radar from harmful interference while also opening the band for lower-power commercial use through both auctioned licenses and shared, unlicensed-like access.

This event – keynoted by the three primary government agencies involved – will highlight the innovation sparked by a diverse range of private enterprises and public institutions when they can gain direct local access to shared spectrum.

This innovation reflects the reality that the most robust “5G” and future “6G” wireless ecosystems will rely not only on wide-area mobile coverage networks, but increasingly on an immense number of complementary, high-capacity and customized networks deployed by individual enterprises, households and community anchor institutions to meet their particular needs at a lower cost.

Please join us in person for lunch, or online if you cannot attend, for this timely policy forum.

AGENDA

11:00 – Welcome & Introduction

Michael Calabrese, Director, Wireless Future/New America

11:10 – Keynotes

Jessica Rosenworcel, Chairwoman, Federal Communications Commission (FCC)

Scott Harris, Senior Spectrum Advisor, NTIA/U.S. Department of Commerce

11:40 – Panel 1: CBRS Fueling Business Innovation and Competition

Jason Wallin, Principal Architect, John Deere

Al Sinopoli, Distinguished Engineer--RF Networks, Chevron

Paul Savill, SVP, Global Practice Leader for Network and Edge, Kyndryl

Manish Jindal, Group Vice President, Wireless R&D, Charter Communications

Vardahn Chaudhry, Vice President, Investments—Digital Infrastructure, JBG Smith

John Mezzalingua, Founder, Chairman and CEO, JMA Wireless

12:30 – Lunch Break

12:45 – Panel 2: Public Sector Networks – Leveraging GAA

Philip Neufeld, Executive Officer, Information Technology, Fresno Unified School District

Garfield Swaby, Vice President of Information Technology, New York Public Library

Salvador D'Itri, Chairman, National Spectrum Consortium

William Britton, CIO & VP of Information Technology, Cal Polytechnic State University

1:30 – Panel 3: Building on Success: Extending the CBRS Sharing Model

John Leibovitz, Jupiterra LLC, Former Deputy Chief, FCC Wireless Bureau

Jennifer McCarthy, Vice President for Legal Advocacy, Federated Wireless

Preston Marshall, Engineering Director, Google Cloud, and Chairman On-Go (CBRS) Alliance

Becky Tangren, VP & Association General Counsel, NCTA—The Internet & Television Association