Along with taking part in the FCC’s 700 MHz auction, Google has also been trying to get into the so-called “white space”– the slivers of unlicensed, unused spectrum that lie between television channels, reports Forbes.
At the recent World Economic Conference in Davos, Chief Executive Eric Schmidt said that mobile devices with location-based advertising could spark a “huge revolution,” more interesting than the personal computer.
The white space channels were originally designed to prevent radio waves on adjoining channels from bleeding into each other. They’re considered too narrow to be auctioned off. Even so, they’re in a choice portion of the spectrum where analog television currently lives, an area that could be used for data services, much like the 700 MHz spectrum. Use–if approved–would begin in February 2009.Exactly what Google would do in the white space is a subject of debate. Is Google’s zeal for white space a hedge against losing the auction? That seems a bit of a stretch, particularly since there has been widespread speculation that Google isn’t worried about winning the auction–just about ensuring that anyone can send data through the spectrum. Last summer, Google nudged the FCC to adopt a provision that gets triggered if the auction price exceeds $4.6 billion.
That provision ensures that networks built in the newly sold spectrum would be open to all third-party devices. By actively bidding, Google can make sure that the final price is north of that magic reserve number–and so make the spectrum open.
“Anything that provides a way to push ads while not benefiting existing carriers is beneficial for Google,” says Rory Altman, director of telecom consulting firm Altman Vilandrie & Co. Or it could create a low-cost experimental playing field that lets technology companies try out new services without the added cost of spectrum access.
Related DailyWireless stories include; Sprint and T-Mobile Support “White Space” Use, White Space Gets Hot, 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
