With 55 million passengers a year, Miami International Airport (MIA) runs like a small city, and it needs connectivity it can count on around the clock. That’s why it built its own private wireless network using the Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS).
MIA’s network was a focus of CBRS in Action: Powering Connectivity and Innovation in Communities, a recent webinar hosted by NCTA and the National League of Cities. Moderated by NCTA’s Mary Claire York, the panel included Jonathan Lewis of MIA, Jerry Leverich of Spectrum for the Future, and Jason Eyre of Murray City School District in Utah, which is also using CBRS to connect students and keep schools safe.
Why an Airport Turned to CBRS
CBRS is 150 megahertz of spectrum in the 3.5 GHz band, shared between the U.S. Navy and commercial users. Leverich described it as sitting conceptually between Wi-Fi, which organizations deploy on their own premises, and the large public networks run by the nationwide carriers. CBRS offers the control and reach of a cellular network, but on a local scale and private to the institution that runs it. That flexibility has made CBRS the go-to band for private networks across the country:
- More than 440,000 CBRS devices are deployed nationwide.
- About 75% of U.S. private networks run on CBRS.
- Most users, including MIA, operate on the General Authorized Access (GAA) tier, which requires only FCC registration and no license fee.
For MIA, CBRS meant a dedicated network it could control and tailor to the mission-critical systems that keep the airport running.
From One Camera to 36 Use Cases
MIA’s first CBRS test in 2021 connected a single perimeter security camera, avoiding the cost of trenching fiber along the perimeter of its 12-mile-wide campus. Today, the network supports 36 use cases and thousands of IoT sensors, including:
- Aircraft turnaround tracking, using computer vision and predictive analytics to flag delays before they happen.
- Airfield operations, with sensors tracking ground and fuel-handling vehicles.
- Digitized FAA inspections on connected tablets.
- Traveler services, including an AI-powered virtual assistant that speaks 40 languages.
Together, these sensors and devices give MIA the data to run more efficiently, anticipate problems, and make better-informed decisions across the airport.
“We want to be able to put more sensors, more devices, to have more data points, to ingest more data, to become a smarter airport,” said Lewis.
The Business Case
Beyond new capabilities, CBRS has made strong financial and operational sense for the airport. Lewis pointed to several benefits:
- Lower costs. Wiring camera stations at one gate cost MIA $40,000.
- With CBRS, two radio heads can cover 18 gates for about $100,000, compared with $400,000 to $700,000 for traditional wiring.
- Faster deployment, without the construction permits and FAA certifications that new wiring requires.
- Predictable operating costs. An on-site managed service provider runs the network for about what MIA spends to support its Wi-Fi.
- Stronger security, with traffic kept behind the airport’s own firewall.
- New revenue through the airport’s shared tenant services program, which serves more than 400 tenants.
- MIA can now offer airlines the reliable coverage they need to scan baggage on the ramp.
- A growing ecosystem. At MIA’s request, vendors have built devices that connect natively to CBRS, adding options for every user of the band.
What’s at Stake
A pending FCC proposal, sought largely by the nationwide wireless carriers, would raise power levels for some users and loosen out-of-band emissions limits. Leverich explained that CBRS sharing works because power levels across the band are kept in check, so when one user needs a channel, others can detect it and step back. Allowing some users to transmit at much higher power would disrupt that balance and could push other users off the band.
“If you change the character of CBRS, then you probably change the use cases in the future,” said Leverich.
For MIA, the impact would be immediate. A Valo Analytica study found that a single higher-power deployment could cut its network capacity by up to a third.
“One-third capacity is not like a technical inconvenience, it’s an operational threat,” said Lewis, adding that the airport would need to shut its network down.
Beyond the Airport
Lewis encouraged local leaders to plan countywide. If one airport can support 36 use cases, a city or county could support many more, from transit to public parks. PortMiami is already exploring the technology.
Leverich urged local leaders to file brief comments in the FCC’s open CBRS docket and tell their members of Congress how the band serves their communities.
Preserving the band’s shared framework, including its current power limits, will keep CBRS working for the airports, schools, and communities that depend on it.
