Open Spectrum

...The federal government's decision to auction off this prime public spectrum next month could change the wireless world. It has the potential to make talking on a cellphone, surfing the Web on a mobile device and even watching television on your handset easier and cheaper.

Google Inc. said Friday that it would bid, and a slew of other companies were expected to file to join them by Monday's deadline. ...

"No matter which bidder ultimately prevails, the real winners of this auction… more

When a unit of Samsung Electronics Co. appeared arm in arm earlier this year with companies pushing the government to open unused airwaves for inexpensive wireless Internet service, other parts of the South Korean conglomerate were less than pleased.

Samsung (SSNLF) boasts a vast reach into markets ranging from cell phones to televisions. In this instance, that diversity has the company in the odd position of arguing both for and against the hot-button notion of tapping unused TV airwaves in… more

When a group of companies with a combined market value of nearly $1 trillion decides it wants a favor from the federal government, it shouldn’t have trouble making quick time of the opposition.

Such a super-wealthy group is the White Spaces Coalition, formed by the likes of Google, Microsoft, Intel, Dell and Hewlett-Packard. Their goal is to provide advanced wireless communications services on vacant TV channels without having to secure licenses from the FCC at auction.

But the alliance of deep-pocketed technology… more

When the transition to digital TV is completed in February 2009, broadcasters will retain channels 2 to 51, but will actually be using less than half of that spectrum to broadcast over-the-air DTV signals. Local TV stations will be separated by empty channels, known as "white space" -- underutilized spectrum that new “smart radio” technologies can use for productive activities, including wireless broadband, without interfering with television reception. DARPA and other wireless innovators have already developed far… more

The FCC should reconsider its decision to allow incumbent radio licensees to expand into neighboring spectrum without imposing additional public interest requirements. The Second Report & Order is premised on the unexamined and unsupported assumption that the Commission is not assigning new spectrum for mutually exclusive commercial uses to incumbent licensees. Because of this erroneous premise, the FCC completely fails to consider a key question of whether the spectrum should be used for alternative purposes, such as noncommercial low power… more

M2Z Networks may sue the U.S. Federal Communications Commission after the agency turned down its request for radio frequencies for a national broadband wireless network.

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...M2Z wants to deliver a free service, supported partly by locally targeted search advertising, at 384Kbps downstream and 128Kbps upstream. People would only have to give a valid e-mail address or… more

New America Foundation and the Public Interest Spectrum Coalition (PISC) are advocating that white spaces be opened up for public use. The Federal Communications Commissioner Michael Copps said recently that “the proper way to allocate this [unlicensed spectrum bandwidth] in the manner that best serves the public interest is to conduct a general rulemaking.” Sascha Meinrath responds in Network World:

...Sascha Meinrath, the research director for the New America Foundation's Wireless Future Program, says that any of the four options… more

...[The National Association of Broadcasters and the Association for Maximum Service TV] will stress their support for using wireless spectrum to further rural broadband deployment through fixed systems, officials said Monday. Meanwhile, they'll push hard against plans to use the TV band for mobile broadband services -- particularly involving devices that rely on spectrum sensing to determine when they'll work...

[NAB President David Rehr] and MSTV President David Donovan kicked off the lobbying Monday with a joint letter sent… more

In May 2004, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to allow a new generation of wireless devices to use vacant TV frequencies (so-called “white spaces”) on an unlicensed basis and thereby promote more effective use of the public airwaves. In October 2006, under bipartisan pressure from Congress, the FCC adopted a First Order and Further NPRM that approved unlicensed use of vacant TV channels for “fixed” broadband deployments, but called for further… more

...In a Sept. 10 letter, the National Association of Broadcasters endorsed FCC efforts to permit white spaces to be used for offering wireless broadband to stationary gadgets in rural areas. But it reiterated that mobile devices operating in the band would wreak havoc with DTV signals and make it impossible for affected parties to pinpoint the causes or locations of the interference. Following the briefing, broadcasters headed for the FCC and Capitol Hill to appeal directly to FCC Chairman Kevin… more