White Space Approved For Public Broadband Services
Posted on: Wednesday, 5 November 2008, 13:10 CST
The Federal Communications Commission voted on Tuesday to approve the use of unlicensed portions of television airwaves for broadband purposes.
These so-called white spaces are the vacant spaces between TV channels which would be available for free, unlicensed use, as Wi-Fi is - are particularly well-suited to providing broadband since they can penetrate walls, carry a great deal of data and reach a wide geographic area.
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, one of three Republicans on the commission, called white spaces "a very valuable national asset."
"White spaces are the blank pages on which we which we will write our broadband future," said Jonathan Adelstein, one of two Democrats on the five-member commission.
Companies like Google Inc. and Microsoft Corp. say white spaces could allow better Internet coverage for rural America.
"This is a clear victory for internet users and anyone who wants good wireless communications," wrote Google co-founder Larry Page in a company blog following the FCC's decision.
"This will put better and faster internet connections in the hands of the public.
"We will soon have Wi-Fi on steroids since these spectrum signals have a much longer range than today's Wi-Fi technology."
The next step for opponents could be a fight on Capitol Hill or a lawsuit to stop the FCC plan from taking effect.
Opponents include the nation's big TV broadcasters, which argue that using the fallow spectrum to deliver wireless Internet access could disrupt their over-the-air signals.
"Every American who values interference-free TV should be concerned by today's commission vote," the National Association of Broadcasters said in a statement.
Additionally, manufacturers and users of wireless microphones - including sports leagues, church leaders and performers of all stripes - have also raised concerns about interference.
One commissioner, Republican Deborah Tate, dissented in part saying that potential interference problems would need to be addressed.
Chairman Martin said that any device offered by a technology company would have to go "through a rigorous certification process."
Martin said the FCC's engineers had already taken the "extra step" of undertaking months of testing of white-space devices, to determine whether they could be used without interfering with other broadcasts and microphones.
The approval was also backed by national nonpartisan media reform group Free Press.
"On this election day, the FCC chose to put politics aside and voted in favor of a policy grounded in sound science," said policy director Ben Scott.
"The bipartisan decision to open white spaces puts consumers first, marking a change in Internet policy we can all believe in.”
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Source: redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports
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