FCC Endorses Spectrum Use For Wireless Devices
Posted on: Friday, 17 October 2008, 08:15 CDT
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a much-anticipated engineering report late Wednesday that endorsed the viability of making unused bands of wireless spectrum, known as “white spaces“, available to wireless devices.
The airwaves will become available next year as U.S. broadcasters complete the mandated transition to all-digital television.
The five-member agency will consider approving the report’s recommendations at its next public meeting on November 4.
Supporters say such a move could drive development of faster, feature-rich devices, such as high-definition wireless video, within a year.
"The industry in general is all ready to gear up to put out devices as soon as possible," Monisha Ghosh, a researcher at Philips, told Reuters.
"I'd estimate within a year you'd see a fair number of different applications."
Philips is currently developing products that would use the technology, and joins Motorola Inc, Google Inc, Microsoft Corp and others who seek to harness the unused spectrum for a new generation of wireless devices.
Applications include what some call "Wi-Fi on steroids", which provides faster service that travels farther and is more effective than standard wireless home networking.
However, broadcasters, cable operators and wireless network companies oppose the release of the unused spectrum, claiming it would create interference and other technical issues.
The National Association of Broadcasters, an industry association that represents major networks such as NBC and ABC, said it is still reviewing the 150-page report and did not immediately respond.
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin told Reuters the report confirms that devices can be developed with limited interference to broadcast and cable television.
"The investment will occur immediately after an order issued by the FCC and it is looked at and people conclude, 'gee there is an opportunity here to innovate'," Ed Thomas, former chief engineer for the FCC's Office of Engineering Technology, told Reuters.
Consumer groups have generally welcomed the opening of the spectrum to unlicensed use, similar to the way in which Wi-Fi currently uses spectrum.
"Rural broadband is an excellent way to get connectivity in places that are hard to reach," Ben White, policy director at Free Press, told Reuters.
"But it's much more than that. It will reduce the cost of infrastructure so you can deploy a broadband product that is much cheaper."
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Source: redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports
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