Professional golf players group PGA Tour revealed it wants to use private LTE to improve coverage and security at its tournaments, requesting permission from the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to conduct extensive field trials at 3.5GHz.

In its application, PGA Tour said it wants to test a private LTE system from Ruckus Wireless across 14 states between 1 July and 31 December. The system runs on spectrum known in the US as the shared Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS).

PGA Tour noted standard mobile coverage typically deteriorates during large scale events and the CBRS system could be used to support “public safety, scoring and broadcast” at its events by enabling the use of additional cameras, surveillance and recognition software.

Licence battle looms
The request comes during a tug-of-war battle over the rules governing the 3.5GHz spectrum band, as large operator interests push for broader licence areas and terms. Others, including Google, Ruckus Wireless and GE, argue such changes would make it much harder and more expensive for newcomers and innovators to launch service on the band.

In May, a cross-industry coalition presented the FCC with a compromise proposal which includes a mix of large-area and small-area licensing it said can meet the needs of both large operators and other interests.

The FCC is still reviewing its rules for the band.