New Service Could Help Hospitals with Wireless Networking Strain

With all the connected devices in healthcare environment, wireless networking capacity has become a priority for IT teams in hospitals. One solution being proposed by the CBRS Alliance is to use shared spectrum in the 3.5 GHz band for in-building 4G LTE cellular service. Members of the alliance include AT&T, Comcast, Charter, Ericsson, Google, Intel, Nokia, Qualcomm, Ruckus, and Verizon. Early next year, CBRS Alliance expects to begin offer in-building cellular service in the 3.5 GHz citizens band radio spectrum (CBRS) that the FCC opened up to wireless broadband use for industrial applications, such as healthcare, in 2015 and recently approved high-speed cellular services to operate in the band. “The work that has been done by the CBRS Alliance is about enabling that spectrum sharing, but still protecting those players that have the need and the use of the spectrum traditionally,” explained CBRS Alliance Executive Director Alan Ewing.