Quick Start Guide

Designed for Operators, by Operators
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4 Citizens Broadband Radio Service Operations (47 C.F.R. Part 96)
All information provided herein including, but not limited to, feature content, releases, functionality,
estimated dates, and timelines, has been prepared by Mercury Networks, LLC. for general information
and documentation purposes only and is subject to change at any time. Including, without limitation,
because of specific field conditions. Mercury Networks, LLC. is under no obligation and is making no
commitments with regards to any of the information contained in the following section (4. Citizens
Broadband Radio Service Operations). Mercury Networks, LLC. has made all reasonable effort to ensure
that the information contained in the following section is adequate and free of material errors. Subject to
applicable law, in no event will Mercury Networks, LLC. be liable for errors in this documentation, or for
any damages including but not limited to direct, in-direct, incidental, or consequential, or any losses that
may arise from use of this documentation or the information in it.
For operations under FCC Part 96, Citizens Broadband Radio Service, the Quantum 6636 can me modified
for use with the additional spectrum available in the CBRS band (3550-3700) through the combination of
a firmware upgrade and use of a proprietary Domain Proxy application. For access to the necessary
firmware and domain proxy applications, operators must contact Mercury Networks for assistance. The
following sections outline Quantum 6636 operations under Part 96, the necessary configuration, and use
of the domain proxy application.
4.1 Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) Overview
Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) is a 150 MHz wide broadcast band of the 3.5 GHz band (3550
MHz to 3700 MHz) in the United States. In 2017, the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
completed a process which began in 2012 to establish rules for commercial use of this band, while
reserving parts of the band for the US Federal Government to limit interference with US
Navy radar systems and aircraft communications (otherwise known as 47 CFR Part 96).
On January 27, 2020, the FCC authorized full use of the CBRS band for wireless service provider
commercialization without the restrictions to prevent interference with military use of the
spectrum. Under the new rules, wireless carriers using CBRS might be able to deploy 5G mobile networks
without having to acquire spectrum licenses.
Existing 3.65 GHz licenses possessed by various operators will begin their transition from Part 90 to Part
96 in October of 2020. Unless the license being used is covered by a Part 90(z) Grandfathered Protection
Zone registration, which may extend the use of the license temporarily beyond the anticipated October
2020 transition date, will be required to transition to CBRS for continued use of the Quantum 6636
product inside the US (see 47 CFR Subpart Z – Wireless Broadband Services in the 3650-3700 MHz band
for up-to-date information regarding the latest federal regulations).
4.1.2 CBRS Operations
The Citizens Broadband Radio Service is governed by a three-tiered spectrum authorization framework to
accommodate a variety of commercial uses on a shared basis with incumbent federal and non-federal
users of the band in the US. Access and operations will be managed by a dynamic spectrum access system,
conceptually similar to the databases used to manage Television White Spaces devices. The three tiers
are: Incumbent Access, Priority Access, and General Authorized Access.