The FCC has tapped Google and eight other companies to be “white space” administrators for devices using TV spectrum for internet access, reports Forbes. “White spaces,” are unused TV channels. Like WiFi, the tv spectrum can be used to provide free or low cost broadband access.
The switchover to digital television freed up large areas between about 50 MHz and 700 MHz. This is because digital transmissions can be packed into adjacent channels, while analog ones cannot. The lower frequency spectrum that television uses can penetrating buildings better, although the power in white space devices is limited to 100 mW for mobile devices and 1 watt for fixed devices.
The FCC conditionally designated nine applicants – Comsearch, Frequency Finder, Google, KB Enterprises and LS Telcom, Key Bridge, Neustar, Spectrum Bridge, Telcordia Technologies, and WSdb – as TV bands database administrators. “While the operation of multiple database administrators may present some coordination challenges, we find it is in the public interest to have multiple parties developing business models for this new mechanism,” said the FCC Order (pdf).
Those opposed to the technology include mobile operators, cable providers, broadcasters and wireless microphone companies.
White space devices, like WiFi, may make mobile browsing more affordable than cellular networks. Google stands to gain from its administrator role, allowing it to closely observe an operating network. Each white space device must determine its location by a GPS chip or other technology. The on-line database shows the active television stations at that location and enables a device switch to an unused channel. A built-in “sniffer” may also detect potential interfering frequencies. Companies seeking to be database administrators submitted written proposals to the FCC last year.
The databases won’t be active for several weeks. The FCC has asked all administrators to submit additional information about their database plans by Feb. 28 and attend a March 10 workshop to go over the agency’s rules. Adminstrators will then undergo a 45-day trial period. If they pass the trial, they will be able to operate their databases for five-year terms.
The technology may enable community hotspots that cover a block or two. Speed will be limited, however. The TV band is divided into 6-megahertz channels, compared to WiFi, which uses 20 megahertz channels in the 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz band. While WiFi offers speeds of 50 – 100 Mbps, white space devices, restricted to a quarter the bandwidth, would be slower, but should have better range since the 200-700 Mhz frequencies can better penetrate foliage and buildings. Antennas would be too physically large for techniques like MIMO, however.
You can find out what TV White Spaces channels are available in your area – directly from your iPhone — for free.
Created by Spectrum Bridge, their “ShowMyWhiteSpaces” is the first iPhone application for locating available TV White Spaces channels anywhere in the US.
On October 22, 2009, high-level executives from Microsoft met officials of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India to demonstrate how vacant spectrum can be used to provide broadband services at a fraction of the cost incurred by existing players. Researchers at Redmond have been working on this technology for more than two years and call the technology White-Fi.
They believe it can be a game changer for India and the United States.
Rural broadband providers say it has potential to reach hard-to-access areas, with unused tv channels more available outside the cities. Mid-sized cities and applications, like smart grids, may also find the technology useful. Still, it’s unlikely to be a mass market like WiFi, especially given the technical challenges.
Dell and Microsoft, among others, have indicated they want to produce compatible gadgets. Google, which recently declared that all of its 2011 initiatives relate to mobile, may also commission Android-based white space devices.
Google has been firmly pro-white spaces since 2008. Google co-founder Larry Page traveled to Washington, D.C. to lobby Congress and the FCC to open up white space spectrum. Google also ran a “Free The Airwaves” campaign in 2008 which encouraged the public to support so-called unlicensed use of white spaces. In 2010, Google collaborated with Florida-based Spectrum Bridge to launch an experimental white space network in northern California.
In its Jan. 26 order on white space databases (pdf), the FCC acknowledged receiving several objections about Google’s qualifications as an administrator.
The Association for Maximum Service Television (MSTV) and the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) found fault with all the database applicants, including Google. They said Google’s proposal, “fails to describe in detail how each database function will operate.”
The Coalition of Wireless Microphone Users, also expressed concern with the way Google planned to structure its database.
Key Bridge Global, a Virginia-based technology firm, was the most vocal Google opponent and argued that Google could unfairly benefit from the information it would collect as an administrator. Citing the likelihood that Google will manufacture devices that utilize white space spectrum (or partner with companies that will make such devices) Key Bridge contended that Google could profit from knowing details such as the make, model and location of competitors’ equipment.
The FCC chose to overlook these protests. In its Jan. 26 order, the agency said it did not consider Google a threat because all administrators would be prohibited from using database information to engage in anti-competitive practices.
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