#5g #wirelesscommunications #lte #CBRS #VoLTE #4g

I work with a lot of people that want to deploy CBRS and Thursday something exciting happened. Well, it’s exciting if you’re in the wireless business. A friend, Bob Merola called me from an iPhone 11 on his first CBRS site.

It was VoLTE over CBRS to my mobile which is on Verizon.

His company is Wytec and they brought up their first CBRS LTE site.

To many of you, you’re thinking, “What’s the big deal?”. If you are in the industry and understand how the CBRS GA spectrum can open up new doors for new players, then you understand how much this is going to allow new ideas and technology to roll out. Think of industry-specific business cases where a local user can deploy a public or private LTE network without having to beg carriers to do what needs to be done for her success.

Large carriers deploy for the masses. CBRS is going to allow niche markets to come alive using wireless technology, 4G today and 5G tomorrow, to develop new solutions that we may not have thought of before.

Yes, while VoLTE has been done and CBRS is slowly rolling out, I was excited to be on the receiving end of one of the first CBRS VoLTE calls ever.

I remember when we built one of the first statewide wireless IP systems in 2002, We were laughed at by all the DS3 system managers.

I remember when the only wireless we could deploy outside of the carrier spectrum was public safety or ISM, which you would call the Wi-Fi spectrum today.

I remember receiving one of the first VOIP calls over wireless back in 2001. That was pretty amazing.

And this week, I received one of the first CoLTE calls from a private CBRS system to my mobile on Verizon. WOW!

When we look back, it will seem insignificant, only because it’s been done a million times. Yet, today, I want to enjoy being one of the first.