F.C.C. votes to open up “white space”
On Tuesday the F.C.C. voted to open a slice of unused “white space” on the radio spectrum for public use.The hope is that it will be used for low-cost, high-speed Internet access and new wireless gadgets. The new gadgets could be on the market before the end of next year.
Radio and television broadcasters as well as Broadway theater producers are very disappointed by the ruling. In their tests, the use of the new frequency interfered with wireless microphones and television signals.
The F.C.C. is confident that the interference problem can be solved by strict regulation of any new devices that use the white space. To be certified by the commission, any new devices will need to include technology that will detect existing broadcast channels and change their own broadcast to avoid any possibility of interference.
It will be interesting to watch how these new spectrums are used. Their potential has been described as Wi-Fi on steroids. Perhaps the most immediate devices will be used for applications within the home such as connecting your computer to your TV. It remains to be seen if the new spectrums can solve the broader home or business to ISP issues we have seen with existing Wi-Fi technology.
For more information on this, check out ipHouse customer, Ann Treacy’s Blandin on Broadband blog, the New York Times article, and the official F.C.C. web site.
Tags: broadband, FCC, high-speed Internet, wireless