Hi. Welcome back to your CBRS training. I'm Mathew Varghese. In this lesson, we're going to learn about the role of a Certified Professional Installer or CPI in the Citizens Broadband Radio Service ecosystem. We will be talking about why CPIs are necessary, what CPIs do, what responsibility CPIs have, and some of the problems and obstacles the CPI can run into. So why do we need CPIs? Well, to answer that question, let's first go back and talk about the SAS. That's the Spectrum Access System which protects incumbent users from devices that transmit in the CBRS band. We'll call those devices CBSDs. The SAS needs certain key information about any CBSD that wants to transmit in the CBRS band so that it can manage any interference from this CBSD to higher-priority users. CPIs provide a SAS with accurate information about the CBSD. We'll get into exactly how to find and provide those parameters. But just know for now that the SAS needs the right information about all CBSDs in order to enable access to the CBRS band while also protecting higher-priority users. So that's a CPI's purpose in the CBRS ecosystem. But what does the CPI actually do? A CPI could be physically installing a CBSD themselves, or they might just be signing off on or certifying someone else's successful determination of parameters. So CPI doesn't necessarily need to be there for the physical installation of the CBSD, but the certified part of the CPI means they are responsible for the completeness and correctness of any installation parameters that are sent to the SAS. If you were the physical installer of the CBSD, you probably want to send photos and videos confirming the installation parameters to the CPI and show how those were determined. So the job as the CPI is to make sure the SAS has the right information and guarantee this in three equally important ways. Always send correct information to the SAS and if the CPI finds out the SAS has incorrect information, immediately fix the problem. This is the vital role that the CPI certification is for. Here's the baseline job description. A CPI determines or validates the installation parameters of the CBSD and provides us parameters to a SAS. CPIs ensure the SAS has the right data. Got it? What else might a CPI do? A CPI might also make sure that the CBSD is up and running and communicating properly with the SAS. They might also troubleshoot problems during and after registration. CPIs are also ambassadors for shared spectrum who can help other people understand how the CBRS band works. But these are all optional parts of the CPI job, and you may be the one doing it or working jointly with the CPI. Now, let's get a sense of the whole process of deploying a CBRS network and talk about how we divide responsibility in making sure that everything is running as smoothly as possible. First, we have the equipment manufacturer. What do they do? Part of it, it's right there in their name. They design and manufacture the product. But the responsibility of a CBSD manufacturer is also to get authorization from the FCC for this particular model of device to be able to use the CBRS band. They have to make sure that device complies with all of the FCC regulations, as well as the appropriate standards for the CBRS band. Then there's a network owner. They are planning network deployments and choosing a SAS vendor. They make sure the CBSD is properly set up and maintained. They also make sure they have a CPI to send the installation parameters to the SAS vendor that they've picked, and they have to report if the CPI is doing anything improperly. Whoever hires that CPI, whether that's the network owner themselves or another company, they are responsible for making sure that the CPI has current certification. They have to do that before they can assign the CPI to do anything. Then there's the CPI. What are the CPI's responsibilities? The CPI needs to make sure the SAS is getting accurate information about any CBSD that transmits in the CBRS band. The CPI also has the responsibility of finding installation parameters for new or unfamiliar CBSDs, and they have to keep up on what's going on with CBRS standards and regulations. Things can change quickly, and keeping up with the changes is part of the job. As you've already heard, the SAS worked with all available information to make sure that higher-priority users are protected while assisting CBSDs to safely use the CBRS band. A SAS also has a responsibility to its customers, to offer a service that's so reliable that it can be used by critical network infrastructure. SASes will also facilitate coordination among GAA users and resolve conflicting uses of the band. Finally, there's us, the Training Program Administrator. First and foremost, we will train CPIs. After certification, we will also communicate relevant rule and specification changes to the CPIs we've trained. If anyone reports that CPIs we've trained may have made an error, we will also be obligated to review the situation. Which of these roles do you have? CPI certification is held by an individual, not their employer. So CPI might work for an employer or with other personnel. But ultimately, it's the responsibility of a CPI even if another person is in charge of physically installing the CBSD. Data that's entered by CPI and sent to the SAS is going to be checked for accuracy by other systems and other policies. This is a serious responsibility, and the federal government might pursue legal action if they think there has been negligence or willful misconduct by a CPI. Let's take a moment to talk about exactly what happens if a CPI doesn't meet their responsibilities. Let's say someone, like a CBSD owner or a SAS administrator, figures out that a CPI made a serious error. If this happens, they might report it to the CPI's Training Program Administrator and request to review. In this case, that's us. When they review what's happened, the TPA might do one of the following. If the TPA decides that the error wasn't particularly significant, they may simply ask the CPI to update or correct the information. If the TPA finds that the CPI was repeatedly making serious material errors, they might suspend the CPI certification and ask the CPI to take additional training and test before lifting their suspension. The third possibility is that if it's determined that the CPI gave false information on purpose, then the TPA can terminate the CPI's credentials. Now, what if the CPI is in danger of losing the certification, but they don't think the TPA's decision was correct? In that case, the CPI does have the right to appeal any action taken by the TPA to WInnForum. WInnForum is the accrediting body, and they have the full right and authority to accept or deny any appeal request. If a corrective disciplinary action is taken against the CPI, that action gets recorded in the CPI's records which are maintained by the TPA. In a case where the actions are reviewed by a regulatory agency or even a civil or criminal authority, all parties will have to support the review. So we learned more about the role of CPIs in the CBRS ecosystem. Be sure to come back for the next lesson, and we'll get some more background on CBRS.
