Grok
Why Are Some Channels Preferred?
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GAA: This "third-tier" user must vacate or reduce power when a PAL or radar is activated, which is why they prefer to stay above channel 10 (no PAL, low radar risk) where possible. In the current snapshot, the five highest GAA counts are all on channels 11–15 (led by channel 12).
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PAL: PAL owners decide their channel assignments. The imbalance in PAL channel adoption is possibly a simple reflection of staggered deployment by those respective PAL owners. PAL grants appear only on channels 1–10 in this dataset; the busiest PAL channels are 8, 9, and 10.
Updates and changes since the last review
- Data window: previous commentary was qualitative without a dated channel table; this review is anchored to the 2026-07-23 channel snapshot.
- Headline changes: channel 12 (3660–3670 MHz) leads total activity (251,713), entirely GAA; channels 13 and 14 follow. Combined GAA+PAL peaks on mid-PAL channels (e.g., channel 8) when both tiers are present.
- Trend continuity: GAA still prefers the upper five channels (11–15, no PAL in this extract); PAL remains confined to the lower ten channels.
- New or revised findings: among PAL channels, 8–10 dominate PAL counts; lower channels (1–3) show much thinner PAL use.
- Corrections: none material—prior Key Bridge commentary that mid-band “unpopularity” of some GAA-looking channels is an artifact of blended GAA+PAL presentation still holds.
Channel snapshot (2026-07-22 data file)
| Channel | Freq (MHz) | GAA | PAL | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3550–3560 | 106,025 | 1,038 | 107,063 |
| 2 | 3560–3570 | 115,229 | 9,495 | 124,724 |
| 3 | 3570–3580 | 108,158 | 27,585 | 135,743 |
| 4 | 3580–3590 | 112,783 | 45,730 | 158,513 |
| 5 | 3590–3600 | 89,857 | 55,445 | 145,302 |
| 6 | 3600–3610 | 102,229 | 42,076 | 144,305 |
| 7 | 3610–3620 | 89,002 | 59,659 | 148,661 |
| 8 | 3620–3630 | 113,165 | 75,900 | 189,065 |
| 9 | 3630–3640 | 106,018 | 69,718 | 175,736 |
| 10 | 3640–3650 | 106,739 | 64,337 | 171,076 |
| 11 | 3650–3660 | 170,893 | 0 | 170,893 |
| 12 | 3660–3670 | 251,713 | 0 | 251,713 |
| 13 | 3670–3680 | 221,344 | 0 | 221,344 |
| 14 | 3680–3690 | 217,446 | 0 | 217,446 |
| 15 | 3690–3700 | 185,083 | 0 | 185,083 |
- Highest total activity: channels 12, 13, 14, 8, 15
- Highest GAA: channels 12, 13, 14, 15, 11
- Highest PAL: channels 8, 9, 10, 7, 5
- PAL footprint: channels 1–10 carry PAL grants; channels 11–15 are GAA-only in this snapshot
Key Bridge commentary:
This chart and data provide more of a curiosity than deep insight. The utility and preference of channel selection is driven entirely by local network requirements and environmental effects.
We think the relative unpopularity of some mid-band channels when viewed as GAA-only is largely an artifact of the blended use of GAA plus PAL by networks operating in that frequency range. Operators that hold PAL naturally concentrate protected grants on licensed channels; opportunistic GAA then stacks more heavily where PAL is absent.
A stacked chart showing the combined GAA plus PAL counts reveals a more homogeneous channel selection across the entire CBRS band than a GAA-only reading would suggest.