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An Internet service provider based in California is offering residents connections using white spaces. Cal.net is using unallocated spectrum, left over after the transition from analog to digital television in 2009, to allow rural customers in areas without 4G LTE and land-based connections a wireless Internet connection.
The Federal Communications Commission has begun a 45-day public trial of Google's white-space spectrum database. The test run is designed to verify the accuracy of the system, which identifies unused portions of television spectrum, known as white spaces, that could be used for alternative forms of communication.
Google and Microsoft are both seeking control of the UK's unused spectrum, according to reports. The white spaces, sections of radio spectrum used as a buffer between bands employed by mobile, radio, and television services, could potentially be used by the technology giants to offer nationwide broadband services to the population.
Nokia has been testing the potential uses of white spaces for indoor positioning. The testing, based at the Imperial War Museum in Cambridge, UK, uses a Nokia N9 to supply information to users on nearby exhibits.
The Federal Communications Commission announced Wednesday that it well conduct a test of the database of broadcast frequencies that will be used for the wireless networking protocol known as White Space. White Space networking will allow companies to maintain extended range Wi-Fi networks covering as much as 100 square miles. The 45 day trial begins Monday Sept. 19. It will be open to the public.
Microsoft has partnered with the BBC, BT, and British Sky Broadcasting to trial the delivery of mobile broadband Internet by utilizing empty radio spectrum normally used to deliver television signals. The so-called white space spectrum could be utilized to deliver additional mobile broadband services to supplement existing services struggling to keep pace with smartphone and tablet adoption.
A recent rush in coupon demand may force some analog TV owners to pay full price for digital converter boxes, warns Massachusetts Representative Ed Markey. Reuters writes that Markey, evalauting the US government's subsidy for the converters, has called for an influx of money from Congress to pay for more coupons, the demand for which may soon outstrip supply. The converter program is currently expected to hit its $1.34 billion budget limit in early January, which may mean no new coupons after late January, or at least until some existing ones are officially unredeemed.
A recent push for the FCC to approve unlicensed use of wireless spectrum white space was successful today, allowing Google and other companies to introduce a new implementation of wireless technologies. TechCrunch reports that the measure has met great resistance from telecom companies and sports leagues, with both claiming it would interfere with devices on licensed airwaves. Google and the FCC scoffed at the reasoning.
Google is aiming to bring public opinion to bear on white space technology, company bloggers have announced. As a member of the White Spaces Coalition, Google is pushing the FCC to authorize the technology, which would take advantage of the frequencies between over-the-air TV broadcasts to deliver broadband Internet, in some cases where it may not have been accessible before. The FCC is said to have completed testing on a second phase of white space devices, and should rule on their practicality "in the coming months."
The Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association today lent support to a movement for new wireless standards by asking that the US government officially license white space frequencies. The organization, which typically represents carriers, is opposing attempts by the Google-backed White Space Coalition to develop and used devices with the deliberately blank spectrum on grounds that the technology could create problems for existing services. By leaving little to no gap between one frequency band and another, new companies using the service could create interference on existing services or cut out space that could be used for background portions of established, licensed networks, the CTIA claims.
Google has submitted a new proposal to the FCC to develop so-called white-space frequencies in the US, reports say. The frequencies lie in the spectrum between channels 2 and 51 in the television range, but are used by neither satellite nor cable providers; Google, one of the members of the White Spaces Coalition, is proposing that the FCC authorize the use of the space for a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to provide ubiquitous wireless broadband access to all Americans," according to a letter by company lawyer Richard Whitt.
The FCC is attempting a second round of testing for so-called "white space" Internet devices, writes the Associated Press. The evaluation is set to begin on on January 24th, and will last three months, involving tests in both lab conditions and the real world. Results may be available by the end of June. The new technologies were developed by Adaptrum, Microsoft, Motorola and Philips; by contrast, the first round of testing examined the work of a coalition including Microsoft, Philips, Dell, HP, Google, Intel and EarthLink.
