FCC Wants Proposals To Manage White Space Database

kdawson writes "A year after voting unanimously to open 'white space' frequencies for unlicensed use, the FCC has now issued a public notice seeking database proposals (PDF). Howard Feld explains in his blog posting: 'At last! We can get moving on this again, and hopefully move forward on the most promising "disruptive" technology currently in the hopper. And move we are, in a very peculiar fashion. Rather than resolve the outstanding questions about how the database provider will collect money, operate the database, or whether the database will be exclusive or non-exclusive, the Public Notice asks would-be database managers to submit proposals that would cover these issues. ... I label this approach "good, but weird."'"

Comments

i want UHF CB Radio!

[FudRucker]

like the ones they have in Australia, UHF does not get the DX/Skip interference like 27MHz does, when I want to talk locally i dont want dozens of people from all over the USA or all over the world interrupting our conversation just to say "hi, where are you?, what kind of radio do you have?" etc...etc... it gets old and annoying after a while

Re:i want UHF CB Radio!

[MichaelSmith]

DX/Skip interference like 27MHz does

Ionospheric propagation is a feature, not a bug. In fact it would be interesting to see what could be done below 30Mhz with protocols similar to CDMA, once all the commercial services have moved to the microwave bands.

Re:i want UHF CB Radio!

[ZorinLynx]

FRS radios operate in the 400MHz range, which is UHF just like you desire. So there you go. :)

Re:i want UHF CB Radio!

[FudRucker]

it is a feature if DX/Skip is what you want to use, if you want to talk locally but can not because of the DX/Skip noise is too high then it is a bug, (all a matter of perspective)

Summary doesn't make sense

[Joreallean]

It makes perfect sense. They have no idea how to do it or the answers to those questions, so they are asking for current database experts to propose a solution. That is opposed to arguing about whatever option they happen to chose arbitrarily until nothing gets done.

Re:Summary doesn't make sense

[plover]

They know how to do it. They have CORES already. You register, you get an ID, you use it to fill out forms and pay bills. In the case of whitespace, you register, you get an ID, you use it to fill out forms, and not pay bills. Easy.

Re:Summary doesn't make sense

[Joreallean]

Quoted from the proposal: "Although there appears to be general agreement on the basic functional architecture for TV band database(s) (i.e., a data repository, a data registration process, and a query process), there are a variety of views on whether we should designate one data repository administrator and allow multiple registration and query service providers, have each administrator perform all functions, or some other combination." They obviously don't know how to do it, no matter how clear the answer is in front of them. I don't think its a bad thing to ask for solutions from the private sector. They don't want to manage it, but they also don't know the best person to manage it either.

Re:Summary doesn't make sense

[Fred_A]

It makes perfect sense. They have no idea how to do it or the answers to those questions, so they are asking for current database experts to propose a solution.

Well, in that case I think they should dedicate the airwaves to either :
- white noise so that we can generate random numbers
- wireless networking

Oh, and regarding database, I think mauve has the most RAM.

Would be nice if they had included a schema

[superid]

I've read the proposal twice. They don't describe what they want to store at all. And I don't see a reference to another document either. How can anyone make an informed proposal without knowing anything about the data!!

Re:Would be nice if they had included a schema

[WidgetGuy]

I've read the proposal twice. They don't describe what they want to store at all. And I don't see a reference to another document either. How can anyone make an informed proposal without knowing anything about the data!!

I dunno. I just read the Public Notice (only once, and quickly). Sounds pretty straightforward to me. They are looking for a database with a real-time API that can be used by devices designed to use the white space bands. These devices are required to have geo-location capabilities (e.g., GPS) so (presumably in real-time) they can give the database their current location (e.g., GPS coordinates). The database replies with an "available channels" report based on the device's location and information it has obtained from "incumbents" who want their channels protected from interference. From the Notice:

"The database will tell a TV band device which TV channels are vacant and can be used at its location." They're not handing you a database definition, but they're surely telling you what type of data you are going to need to store and communicate in real time. In the next sentence,

"The database will also be used to register the locations of fixed TV band devices and protected locations and channels of incumbent services that are not recorded in Commission databases."

That's pretty traditional IT stuff. And that's really it (other than unresolved architecture issues, which they define quite clearly). The rest of the report covers what type of presentation they want to see from a prospective provider and how to go about filing it.

I would seek clarification about how they propose the TV band device communicate in real-time with the database if its not using, well.... some of the TV band. There should be a reserved frequency for that type of thing, but the Notice didn't address that issue.

And, then, there's footnote 5 on page 1 of the Notice: "See 47 C.F.R. %%15.713-15.715 for the rules pertaining to the operation of the TV band database" Sounds like a pretty on-point reference to other documentation to me. Don't have the time to look it up, but it's there and they've given you a pointer to it.

Thirty days should be more than sufficient for a reasonably competent applicant to submit a proposal based on the description of the problem given in the Notice.

How do you gouge if your customer has a clue?

[syousef]

I've read the proposal twice. They don't describe what they want to store at all. And I don't see a reference to another document either. How can anyone make an informed proposal without knowing anything about the data!!

Clearly you've never worked for a consultancy. What you need is a few dozen current buzzwords/phrases - like Cloud Computing, Virtualization, Web 2.0 - and a few weasel words/phrases - like Synergy (a must have in any proposal!), Then you need to proove you can throw 300 people at the problem if needed (and you will find a way to justify it!). Never mind that some dork with a PostGres database and a few scripts (or Access 2007 database if you're a Microsoftie) can probably do what they need. If they can't work out what they need it's a business opportunity.

Legalize it. Then tax it.

[hey!]

I dunno.

How hard is maintaining a database? Especially one that doesn't get updated that often? I'd guess the trick would be distributing the right information to the right devices.

It seems to me that this is *exactly* the kind of thing that should be run by government bureaucrats. It could be designed and operated by a private organization like BB&N, but I certainly don't want to see for-profit companies that might have agendas *other* than accuracy. Crafting creative public policy is not something you want a for-profit entity to do, either directly or through front groups.

Maybe I'm missing something, but I fail to see any economic mystery here. They're just creating a new, flexible class of license which allows manufacturers to sell, and consumers to buy and operate, devices that adjust to the local allocation of spectrum. Invest the money in the system so it gets done fairly, then tax the devices enough so the database becomes self-supporting.

Here's an existing implementation

[jeffstar]

these guys seem to be on top of it and have their database finished.