The debates and disputes over the USA’s CBRS band, in the 3550-3700 MHz range, have raged for so long that it seemed the dreams of unlocking this attractive piece of midband spectrum for a wide range of services providers would wither through sheer weariness. But the three-tiered system that the FCC finally agreed with a huge number of stakeholders is genuinely innovative, if over-complicated, and is being closely studied by regulators and industries round the world. If it is a success in the USA, we are sure to see governments elsewhere emboldened to try something similar. To demonstrate the appetite for midband 5G spectrum, the auction of the licensed elements of CBRS, the priority access licences (PALs), reached bids of…