Press release

Midco Completes Successful CBRS Spectrum Access System Trial Testing

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Sponsored by Businesswire

This week, Midco® and Telrad
Networks
successfully completed initial Citizens Broadband Radio
Service (CBRS) testing on a market trial license with the Federated
Wireless Spectrum Controller, a spectrum access system (SAS). The
testing proves that Midco’s next-generation LTE network can communicate
with the SAS for the purpose of dynamic spectrum sharing, allowing Midco
to continue closing the Digital Divide in rural America.

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https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190429005075/en/

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) requires SAS systems to
manage and assign spectrum on a dynamic, as-needed basis across three
tiers of users. This helps to increase spectrum efficiency within the
CBRS, 3.5 GHz spectrum band. Midco tested with the Federated Wireless
Spectrum Controller at three sites in rural Minnesota and North Dakota,
covering approximately 1,348 rural residents and businesses. The test
ensured that the Telrad equipment – both base stations and customer
premises equipment (CPE) – could successfully communicate with the
Spectrum Controller to request spectrum and that the SAS could
successfully assign that spectrum.

The final FCC SAS testing and verifications are wrapping up, making way
for initial commercial deployments. Midco will be ready to immediately
deploy high-speed fixed LTE wireless broadband throughout its rural
footprint, providing rural customers with speeds of up to 100 Mbps
downloads and 20 Mbps uploads without any data caps.

Midco is a leading provider of reliable, high-speed internet via wired
and fixed wireless technology. In 2018, Midco began offering fixed
wireless services and was provisionally awarded by the FCC approximately
$38.9 million in the Connect America Fund (CAF) Phase II Auction. This
funding will help Midco pass more than 100,000 homes with high-speed,
fixed wireless broadband. Midco’s CAF commitment is only one phase of
its Midco Edge Out℠ strategy in which it “edges out” high-speed internet
from its fiber backbone in urban areas. Midco Edge Out will help close
the Digital Divide using fixed wireless technology.

Midco partnered with Telrad Networks to provide its next generation
fixed wireless LTE network. Telrad is a global provider of innovative,
feature-rich TD-LTE solutions in the sub-6 GHz market. Their wireless
solutions meet the connectivity needs of millions of end users through
operators, ISPs and enterprises around the world.

For purposes of the market trial testing, Midco and Telrad worked with
Federated Wireless. The Federated Wireless Spectrum Controller delivers
software-defined spectrum through a cloud-based SAS, protects federal
incumbents with a redundant network of Environmental Sensing Capability
(ESC) sensors, and provides a robust set of lifecycle management tools
with real-time visibility for optimizing and monetizing CBRS services.

“Midco provides an ideal example of how shared spectrum can
cost-effectively deliver secure high-speed mobile services in rural
areas that have been hard to reach in the past,” said Iyad Tarazi,
President and CEO, Federated Wireless. “We are proud to partner with
Telrad to support Midco with an end-to-end CBRS solution for delivering
the latest wireless technology to their customers.”

About Midco

Founded in 1931, Midco is a leading provider of reliable, high-speed
internet via wired and fixed wireless technology. By 2025, Midco will
deploy 10G, the next great leap for broadband – while also expanding its
fixed wireless network to rural areas. The company also delivers cable
TV including MidcoSN (a regional sports network), voice, home security,
data center and advertising services, plus wholesale networking
solutions. Midco serves 385,000 homes and business in more than 400
communities in Kansas, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and
Wisconsin. Visit Midco.com
to learn more about Midco and how the company gives back to the
communities it serves.

About Telrad Networks

Telrad Networks is a global provider of innovative LTE telecom
solutions, boasting over 300 4G deployments in 100 countries. Telrad
stands at the forefront of the technology evolution with TD-LTE
solutions and a path to 5G in the sub-6 GHz market. Since 1951, the
company has been a recognized pioneer in the telecom industry,
facilitating the connectivity needs of millions of end-users through
operators, ISPs and enterprises around the world. (www.telrad.com)

About Federated Wireless

Federated Wireless is leading the wireless industry through the shared
spectrum revolution, eliminating the decades-old problem of spectrum
scarcity. The company offers the industry’s only end-to-end Spectrum
Controller, enabling government and commercial users to securely share
the same spectrum band. Headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, and with
offices in Boston and Silicon Valley, Federated Wireless is removing the
multi-billion-dollar price tag associated with spectrum access, allowing
for the creation of new wireless carriers and business models. For more
information, visit: www.federatedwireless.com.