On 11/18/2016 11:09 AM, Chadwick Wachs wrote:
We are considering the purchase of a 3.65 license from an existing license holder who is not using it. We would be using it for a handful of backhauls to get off of crowded 5GHz space. However, I'm not sure if this is a smart move (buying a 3.65 license) and wanted some insight from those who have much more knowledge on where the FCC is going with this and what the likely value of a 3.65 license will be both today and next year (?) when the licenses are potentially opened back up.It looks like these licenses, at least in my area, are selling between $500 and $2000. It sounds like $1,000 tends to be about the sweet spot for the few that have sold around here.
Existing 3.65 licenses all expire on the same date in 2020, *except* a few from late 2010- early 2013 that can expire as late as 2023. They allow you to add new radios under that license, but they are not protected (from other types of CBRS users) as "incumbent" under the now-operative Part 96 CBRS rules. Registration of devices that will qualify as "incumbent" closed in 2015. So you can operate new gear, but will have the same status as GAA (licensed-by-rule) users once CBRS gear has gone through the whole process to make the new band usable. There will be no Priority Access Licenses operating above 3.65; PAL is limited to 3.55 to 3.65.
Of course 3.65 is still subject to satellite restrictions, if you're in one of the Protection Zones. Satellites are Incumbent, so on CBRS, they will get protection, and both GAA and PAL channels will be assigned around them. However, unlike today's 150km zones, CBRS will use the Spectrum Authorization System to compute the required protection. That will certainly mean less than 150 km.
You can look in the FCC's ULS to see if anyone else is registered nearby. 3.65 is subject to a "sandbox clause", wherein users have to play nice with one another. It's unlikely that well-focused backhauls will run into a problem there, but you should know who's around.
-- Fred R. Goldstein k1io fred "at" interisle.net Interisle Consulting Group +1 617 795 2701
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