Another industry alliance is gearing up to pitch mobile phone spectrum access to spectrum in the 3.5 GHz band – this time using frequencies formerly devoted to Citizens Band (CB) radio users.

Following a decision by America's Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to free up 150 MHz of the “truckers' Internet” for unlicensed use, industry giants have created a new group to push LTE into the band.

The CBRS Alliance has its eye on frequencies between 3550 MHz and 3700 MHz in America. The group so far comprises six companies: Alphabet's Access Technologies, Federated Wireless, Intel, Nokia, Qualcomm, and Brocade-owned Ruckus Wireless.

Google has already conducted some field trials in the band, and the CBRS Alliance plans more field trials through 2016.

Intel's boilerplate boast explains the ongoing desperate hunt for spectrum by pointing out that “a single smart hospital might use up to three terabytes of data per day”.

The group, which first announced its intentions in February, will work on standards definition, technology adoption, and coexistence management.

Coexistence has already proven a sore point as vendors and carriers try to scoop up whatever spectrum they can find.

Since last year, LTE-U's alliance has been working on a coexistence plan that would let it borrow Wi-Fi spectrum, in the face of strong opposition from Wi-Fi users.

Its coexistence plan is due in September, but along the way, LTE-U advocate Qualcomm has complained that its suggestions for coexistence and field tests have been ignored. ®