InfiniG’s application note, Understanding CBRS Capacity, explains why CBRS spectrum can deliver far more in-building mobile capacity than many building owners, enterprise IT teams, and wireless stakeholders may expect.
A common misconception is that CBRS, as a shared-licensed spectrum band, cannot provide the same level of capacity as the exclusively licensed spectrum used by mobile network operators. The application note challenges that assumption by explaining a critical difference between outdoor macro networks and indoor mobile coverage: CBRS spectrum can be reused extensively inside a building. That ability to reuse the same spectrum across floors, zones, and small-cell coverage areas is what unlocks significantly greater total capacity.
The note begins with a practical overview of spectrum. In wireless networks, capacity is closely tied to the amount of available spectrum. More spectrum generally means more users, faster speeds, and less congestion. This relationship is grounded in communications theory and is commonly simplified as throughput being proportional to spectral efficiency multiplied by spectrum bandwidth.
However, raw spectrum totals do not tell the whole story. While U.S. mobile operators collectively hold far more licensed spectrum than the 150 MHz available in the CBRS band, that licensed spectrum is typically planned for wide-area mobile networks and tightly controlled by each operator. Traditional Distributed Antenna Systems often depend on spectrum “donated” by mobile operators, and operators typically provide only the minimum amount needed. Adding capacity through additional sectors can quickly become operationally complex.
CBRS changes the architecture of indoor mobile coverage. InfiniG’s MCaaS solution uses CBRS small cells and MOCN technology to allow multiple mobile network operators to share the same radio access network while maintaining their own independent core networks. Because CBRS can be reused throughout a building, each small cell effectively adds another block of capacity. A floor, section of a floor, or other indoor area can receive its own 40 MHz of CBRS capacity, while nearby areas can reuse the same spectrum without creating interference.
The application note illustrates this with a 1 million-square-foot building example. A traditional DAS might use 120 MHz of operator-provided spectrum across the building. By comparison, an InfiniG CBRS MOCN deployment using 100 small cells at 40 MHz each can deliver 4,000 MHz of total in-building capacity, or roughly 30 times more capacity.
The takeaway is straightforward: for indoor mobile coverage, CBRS is not limited by shared spectrum in the way many assume. When combined with small-cell architecture, MOCN, and massive indoor spectrum reuse, CBRS can deliver reliable, high-capacity mobile service for modern buildings.