On Tuesday, a bipartisan group of six senators of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which has oversight over the FCC, sent a letter to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, urging the commission to “work to resolve any open technical questions and complete a final order in the next few months” regarding the use of white spaces.
In a letter (pdf) to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, Senators Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.), John F. Kerry (D-Mass.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Bernard Sanders (I-Vt.) and Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) said the use of white spaces spectrum has “enormous potential” from a consumer standpoint.
“We urge you to support the creation of rules that will provide incumbents with the protection to which they are entitled and to avoid overly restrictive regulation that would make white spaces devices technically or economically infeasible,” the senators’ letter to Martin stated.
Although corporate media are allocated free spectrum in every U.S. television market, significant chunks go unused. The unused spectrum was necessary in the analog age. But digital channels can be much closer — even adjacent — without creating interference. This opened up more channels. One segment of the band — from channel 52-69 — will be allocated for licensed frequencies. It will be auctioned off next month. The other unused channels — “white spaces” — may be used for either licensed or unlicensed internet access.
Unlike the 700 Mhz auction, scheduled for next month, “white spaces” would not utilize dedicated licensed frequencies. “White spaces” are unused channels spread throughout the UHF band. It’s expected that low power access points, much like WiFi hot spots, could automatically detect a broadcast signal, and move to a free UHF channel. The technology is being developed under the auspices of the IEEE 802.22 (Wikipedia).
The broadcasting industry is opposed to white spaces, insisting that the use of spectrum will lead to harmful interference. Google, Microsoft and other tech firms disagree and have submitted both licensed and unlicensed devices to the FCC to test.
The technology industry’s push for white spaces spectrum suffered a setback this summer when FCC testing on a white spaces prototype device created interference with television signals. By September, Microsoft and Philips Electronics had submitted a new device for FCC testing that the two companies claim was 100 percent successful in detecting television stations’ signals.
The Wireless Innovation Alliance launched a web site on Wednesday, an expansion of the vendor-centric White Spaces Coalition, a group that has been pushing for the use of so-called white-space spectrum for wireless broadband services.
The vendor coalition includes companies such as Microsoft, Google, Intel, Dell and Hewlett-Packard. At a press conference held this week, several other groups, including Free Press, the Media Access Project, TechNet, the Computing Technology Industry Association and Educause, said that they were joining in the white-space push.
U.S. Reps. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) also lent their support to the efforts of the new alliance at the press conference. They also were among six federal lawmakers who signed a letter to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin that was dated Tuesday and calls on the agency to wrap up its ongoing inquiry into the possible use of white space (download PDF)
Related DailyWireless stories include; Microsoft Disputes FCC Unlicensed Finding, FCC: License-free 700MHz Devices Failed Test, Broadcasters: Portable Devices Kill DTV, Mud Fight in White Space, Pushing for “White Space”, Consumers to FCC: 700MHz Democracy Now!, Broadband Wireless — Hello Goodbye, Microsoft’s “Free” Phone?, Bills Expand Unlicensed UHF Access, 700MHz Battle Begins, Cognitive Brains Self Organize, Unlicensed 700Mhz Access, HiWire: 24 Mobile TV Channels, MobileTV: Modeo KOed by Crown, Mobile/Handheld TV: Killer App?, Mobile TV War at NAB, NAB 2007: Dead Man Walking?, MediaFlo Debuts March 1st, NYC Mobile TV Delayed, Hiwire Moves on Mobile TV, Mobile TV: Six Flavors and FCC Finalizes Rules on 700MHz: Limited Open Access, No Wholesale Requirement.
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