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First Public White-Space Network Is Alive

Posted by timothy on from the ubiquity-keeps-getting-bigger dept.

An anonymous reader writes "The first public white space network officially launched on Wednesday in Claudville, Virginia. It uses sensing technology from Spectrum Bridge with software and Web cams supplied by Microsoft and PCs from by Dell. The project was funded the TDF Foundation. White space networks use unlicensed television spectrum and have been called 'WiFi on steroids.' They offer more bandwidth, over larger areas, than does WiFi. IT companies duked it out with broadcasters for years to get white spaces approved by the FCC. They finally got the FCC's nod in November, 2008."

3 of 97 comments (clear)

  1. As a broadcast engineer... by jjoelc · · Score: 5, Interesting

    while I am personally glad this finally went through... I can vouch for the potential issues this can cause with existing broadcasts. ATSC is so sensitive to multi-path as it is... (and other forms of interference to boot, but I digress) Throwing out a bunch of unlicensed transmitters, borrowing the space between TV stations is a very scary proposition.

  2. It's Obvious Where This is Heading by segedunum · · Score: 5, Interesting
    Interested parties (whose businesses rely and will expand with cheap or free bandwidth) are angling to use it as a means to get around current mobile operators, and it can't come a moment too soon in many ways as far as I'm concerned. However, I can only see this being a recipe for disaster given the state of many wireless devices and all their broken firmware updates today if it's accurate:

    Devices must both consult an FCC-mandated database to determine which channels are available for use at a given location, and must also monitor the spectrum locally once every minute to confirm that no legacy wireless microphones, video assist devices or other emitters are present.

  3. I don't think that word means what you think it... by owlnation · · Score: 5, Funny

    "First Public White-Space Network Is Alive"

    I think you mean "live". If it's "alive" we have some real problems ahead of us.