Critics are skeptical of the proposals arguing that the fact that the ">projected schedule released on September 11, came just a day ahead of FCC Chairman Kevin Martin’s confirmation hearing before Congress is cause for concern. ‘On the one hand we believe that this is largely a manoeuvre to defang Congress and shift the battle back to the FCC where the TV "white space" initiative can be further delayed and ultimately even killed,’ says J.H. Snider, Research Director of the New America Foundation’s , Wireless Future Program. Pressure on Congress is being brought to bear by companies like Microsoft, Intel and to some extent Cisco which have an interest in using this spectrum.

Proposals for the use of unlicensed devices in the broadcasters’ unused spectrum or so-called “white space” were put forward by the last FCC administration. The objective was to replicate the success of WiFi but with longer range. The spectrum below 900 MHz is desirable because of its propagation characteristics; it travels through walls and signal quality extends much further.

This project apparently ground to the halt under Martin who is criticised for having no interest in spectrum or in creating controversy. ‘It is noteworthy that this FCC initiative is being attributed to the FCC’s Office of Engineering and Technology rather than the Chairman’s office. This gives Martin more political cover in the end game to kill it if he so desires,’ says Snider...

For Snider, however, the real question is how much unlicensed use will be allowed. The FCC killed Low Power FM use of radio white spaces by restricting its use to such an extent that ultimately it was no competitive threat to the incumbent broadcasters.

Could this be a repeat of that strategy? ‘The broadcasters have been pushing for a castrated white space order through dominance of the 802.22 standards setting body,’ says Snider. For the wireless camp then, the worry is that if the broadcasters are able to exert sufficient influence over 802.22 and a compliant FCC, this strategy may just be successful.