New Rules From the FCC Open Up New Access To Wi-Fi

CarlottaHapsburg writes: White space — unused channels in the VHF and UHF spectrum — is already part of daily life, from old telephones to going online at your coffee shop or plugging in baby monitors. The time has come to 'permit unlicensed fixed and personal/portable white space devices and unlicensed wireless microphones to use channels in the 600 MHz and television broadcast bands,' according to the FCC. One of the ramifications is that Wi-Fi could now blanket urban areas, as well as bringing it to rural areas and machine-to-machine technology. Rice University has tested a super Wi-Fi network linked by next-generation TV or smart remotes. Carriers are sure to be unhappy about this, but consumers will have the benefit of a newly open web.

Comments

I'll Wager

[Anonymous Coward]

$5 says that the 600MHz spectrum gets sold to cell companies.

You plebs don't need a $50 WiFi router that can reach a mile away.

Re: Bandwidth?

[drinkypoo]

I would far prefer a reliable 13Mbps that covers a while multi-acre lot than 54Mbps that I can't even use at one end of my house.

It doesn't matter because if they open up a new band with more range then you'll just have more stations to compete with because you can fight for spectrum with people who are farther away.

Curious, how did they do that?

[140Mandak262Jamuna]

V signals are broadcast as normal and the WATCH system actively monitors whenever a nearby TV is tuned to a channel to avoid interfering with reception

The TV receiver is a passive device, right. How would they know there is a nearby TV that is tuned to that particular channel? Could they detect a simple VCR or DTR that simply records the over the air signal for the stingy time shifters who balk at paying the monthly fees to TiVO? Or messing up such penny pinching a feature and not a bug?

Re: Bandwidth?

[hawkeyeMI]

I run a small rural WISP. Wisps need more spectrum by the hundreds of megahertz of spectrum. Nobody's very excited about these small openings of spectrum, take it from someone who is actively trying to blanket his area in WiFi.

Re:Bandwidth?

[Lumpy]

That is already been kicked in the nuts.

Back in the early 2000's I helped set up and run a community Wifi. Comcast helped pass laws making what we were doing illegal and within 5 years we had to shut down. It was actually very easy as every customer that paid for full time access was another node for the other customers. As a paying member you got full speed access, and the wifi you broadcast for free was very throttled and had bottom level priority. WE used all off the shelf parts using DISH network dishes mounted upside down and at the end a linksys router in a waterproof box mounted on your roof pointing back to the nearest hop.

we had to disassemble it as it was now illegal as we were creating a service without paying a franchise license. We asked to buy a franchise license and were told, "there is only one available and it's already sold"

You will not see community wireless internet spring up not unless city hall is burned down and the mayor and all the council are in stockades on the lawn being pelted with rotten food.