Television White Space Spectrum Approved For Use By FCC - Slashdot

http://mobile.slashdot.org/story/11/12/25/0319201/television-white-space-spectrum-approved-for-use-by-fcc
"The unused spectrum now assigned to television broadcast has been made available for public use by the FCC. This is going to be used for wireless applications (PDF) with implications that it will generate as much investment as the previous Wi-Fi spectrum. It also happens to be the last available spectrum to be exploited."

FCC To Test Opening White Spaces Up To Public

From Slashdot:

"The FCC will begin a test on Monday that will give the public access to 'white spaces,' the unused spectrum between TV and radio stations. The Commission is in the process of opening up the airwaves for public use; the last release of unlicensed airwaves eventually spawned a number of innovations such as WiFi, cordless phones and baby monitors. Officials hope this move will lead to better WiFi technology that can cover up to 50 miles.

FCC authorizes Microsoft as white space database administrator

The Federal Communications Commission has authorized Microsoft to serve as a white space database administrator, joining Google and eight other entities in overseeing the databases, where unlicensed mobile devices will be required to check in to make sure they are not interfering with television broadcasting. Broadcasting & Cable

 The FCC had already approved nine other entities, including Google Spectrum Bridge and Neustar, to oversee the databases, which unlicensed devices will have to check in with periodically to insure they are not using frequencies that will interfere with TV stations operating in the same frequency band. Why so many administrators? The FCC decided to let "marketplace" forces shape the development of the database service, which will ultimately be overseen by the FCC's Office of Engineering and Technology [OET]."

How Congress’ spectrum bills hurt the tech community

I'd like to thank Alex Lightman for sharing this.

http://gigaom.com/broadband/how-congress-spectrum-bills-screw-the-tech-community/


How Congress’ spectrum bills hurt the tech community

This week both Republicans and Democrats proposed drafts of mobile spectrum bills that would incent television broadcasters to give up some of their spectrum to be used for mobile broadband. Essentially, Congress wants to replace PBS or local broadcast affiliates with downloading Facebook on iPhones.

But things aren’t so simple when it comes to spectrum or Washington politics. The Republican version of the spectrum bill poses a threat to unlicensed wireless, which is where technologies such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth operate. Your Wi-Fi and Bluetooth technologies are safe, but the future of the proposed White Spaces broadband also known as Super Wi-Fi, and new unlicensed spectrum is in doubt under the draft bill. And hiding in those unlicensed airwaves could be the next Wi-Fi.

Such spectrum is free for anyone to use as long as devices operate under interference rules set by the FCC. These bands are where baby monitors, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, walkie-talkies and other radios work — even toys. But in the Republican draft bill, getting ahold of more unlicensed spectrum looks about as easy as getting Om to cheer for the Red Sox.

The draft bill says that in order for unlicensed spectrum to win out over a licensed bidder, an entity or a group of people would have to collectively bid more than a licensed bidder would. This would be akin to having a group of people who want more unlicensed airwaves going up against Verizon or AT&T. As a reminder Verizon spent $9.63 billion on spectrum licenses in the last auction while AT&T spent $6.64 billion. The legislators may have envisioned Google playing a heroic role here and thus enabling the government to make some extra money in a spectrum auction as opposed to just letting such potentially lucrative spectrum become a public radio panacea regulated by the FCC.

There’s another wacky issue with unlicensed spectrum — all of the airwaves would be auctioned off in geographic blocks which means that there would be no nationwide unlicensed spectrum block created. So even if local communities or corporate entities interested in promoting unlicensed spectrum bought out the airwaves, they’d only have access to the ones in their local areas. This is how wireless providers buy their spectrum, and it can lead to some operators having a hard time covering certain markets. And while a local municipality might want to buy unlicensed spectrum to offer its citizens Super Wi-Fi or another service over those airwaves, getting low-cost devices for only one area would be a challenge. Device makers can’t provide cheap electronics for smaller markets.

If the Republicans who control the House manage to get their bill through with those unlicensed provisions, it creates challenges for white spaces broadband, which was originally supposed to operated in the bands between the digital TV spectrum the FCC is trying to convince broadcasters to give up. It also creates challenges for anyone hoping for more airwaves where tech firms and entrepreneurs could create the next generation of Wi-Fi or other wireless data transfer protocol.

With the debate over the debt ceiling, the fate of the spectrum legislation is in flux, but tech firms should keep an eye on this proposal if it moves through the House. I’m willing to sacrifice my TV for more spectrum, but only it’s put to efficient and effective use. As it’s written, the rules don’t favor that for any unlicensed bands.

First tweets over white space spectrum achieved

From EE Times: First tweets over white space spectrum achieved

Cambridge Consultants has successful trialled a wireless network using the unused spectrum between TV channels, or White Space. The demonstration used the social media tools Twitter, YouTube and Skype video to illustrate the potential of White Space as a genuine solution to the problems of rural broadband provision, and increasingly spectrum hungry devices.

White Space frequency is viewed as a cost effective solution for rural broadband. Built to deliver wireless broadband over local White Space TV frequencies to the village of Cottenham, Cambridgeshire, the completion of a working White Space network marks another step forward in the adoption of this technology.

The network was tested using a range of social media tools, marking the first time White Space spectrum has been used in this way. The village of Cottenham was chosen due to its lack of wireless provision, and availability of spectrum. Transmitting from an antenna positioned at the top of Cambridge Consultants' headquarters, the signal was able to reach the village approximately 6 kilometres away.

A challenge when using this new White Space spectrum is avoiding interference with residents' TV signals and professional radio microphones. To address this, Cambridge Consultants worked closely with the licensing authority, and also developed a database engine which accurately pinpoints unused frequencies that are available to use in each locality. This was augmented using a low-cost 'spectral sensing' cognitive radio technology platform that can enable White Space radios to search the spectrum for channels that have interference, potentially from other non-TV and non-microphone users.

Called InCognito, this White Space sensing capability is based on novel cognitive radio hardware and software algorithms allowing it to quickly and accurately find the best spectrum to use. Richard Traherne, head of wireless at Cambridge Consultants, commented: "We believe that White Space, as a pioneering cognitive radio wireless technology, has the potential to change the way that people communicate, especially in rural areas. It has a wide range of applications, from healthcare to home working, and we expect to see these and other exciting applications emerge in the near future."

Related Articles:

• Last mile WiFi over TV white space
• White Space Radio To Be Tested In Cambridge - Slashdot

White Space Radio To Be Tested In Cambridge - Slashdot

http://slashdot.org/story/11/06/28/0115245/White-Space-Radio-To-Be-Tested-In-Cambridge

Last mile WiFi over TV white space

Last mile WiFi over TV white space

 

What do you do when you can’t afford broadband and no-cost WiFi is just out of reach?
That was the problem Rice University grad student [Ryan Guerra] was tasked with solving. A local Houston resident could barely tap into the free service offered in her area, so [Ryan] set out to extend the signal’s range using white space previously occupied by TV signals.
Using channel 29 which operates at 563MHz, his “Super WiFi” project utilizes standard WiFi protocols and can extend the signal’s reach up to a mile. The WiFi signals at the closest tower are piped through a prototype frequency translator, shifting the signal from 2.4GHz down to 563MHz, which is far better suited for long(er)-haul transmissions. The system does not use channel bonding just yet, so it is limited to using about 25% of WiFi’s maximum bandwidth, which is far better than no signal at all.
While the widespread practical use of TV white space will take some time to come to fruition, this is definitely a step in the right direction.