Friday, 17 October 2008

FCC Plans on Freeing Unused White Spaces

The Federal Communications Commission is preparing to release its report on unused spectrum known as white spaces in early November. Among other things, the report will delve into the basics of..

The Federal Communications Commission is preparing to release its report on unused spectrum known as white spaces in early November. Among other things, the report will delve into the basics of whether unlicensed use will lead to interference with other technologies, such as TV broadcasts

Martin held a press conference with reporters recently in which he pledged his support for the use of the white space spectrum and announced that the issue would be up for vote at the FCC's next open meeting in the first week of November. Martin has long been in favor of opening up additional spectrum that can be used to offer wireless broadband services.

Additionally, the FCC issued a report titled, "Evaluation of the Performance of Prototype TV-Band White Space Devices," which discusses the feasibility of devices created to take advantage of the freed up TV broadcast frequencies, and includes detailed results of laboratory and field interference tests of several prototype TV band white space devices, according to the report's executive summary.

The frequencies will be freed up in 2009, when a government-mandated switch to digital television takes effect. The upcoming mandatory switch to digital televisions will be messy, said Robert McDowell, a Republican FCC commissioner.

Broadcasters CBS Corp. and Walt Disney Co.'s ABC oppose the plan, saying the wireless Web gadgets may freeze digital TV screens of consumers who rely on over-the-air signals. Sports leagues and Broadway theaters also want the devices banned, saying they may interfere with wireless microphones using the same frequencies.