US-based non-profit connectivity provider Internet2 lined up Dish Wireless and Cisco as partners in a trial of a neutral host network using CBRS spectrum which could boost connectivity between public and private systems.

The companies plan to begin tests of the private network at a US university later this year, a move Internet2 argued would simplify the institution’s connectivity by providing a common network for mobile and Wi-Fi services.

Internet2 explained the partners would validate the feasibility of a scalable, multi-tenant, architecture using CBRS.

Dish Wireless CCO Stephen Bye noted difficulties “for today’s current wireless networks to provide consistently reliable connectivity and coverage across an entire university campus”, explaining the trial aimed to prove the ability of CBRS spectrum to boost quality through the operator’s 5G network.

Internet2 explained CBRS spectrum in the 3.5GHz to 3.7GHz band had lowered barriers to owning and operating private LTE and 5G networks.

For educational institutions, this opens the door to services including smart campuses, IoT sensor networks, extended Wi-Fi coverage, fixed wireless access and backing for research testbeds.

The neutral host network will employ the university’s Cisco 5G as-a-service based private network, Internet2’s national research and education set-up and Dish Wireless’ 5G network.

In 2021, Dish Wireless and Cisco teamed to develop network slicing tools, with private networks one of the first steps towards achieving this on 5G infrastructure.