Thursday, August 21, 2008
FCC Decision Pending on the Future of Wi-Fi
Wall Street Journal reporter Amy Schatz 's article "FCC to Decide in Battle for TV Spectrum" describes the growing conflict between TV broadcasters and Internet companies for control of the section of the airwaves that has been used to broadcast TV channels. This part of the spectrum will soon become unnecessary when TV switches to digital broadcasting. The broadcasters want to keep their frequencies because they are concerned about interference and maintaining control of this very valuable resource.
Unused parts of the spectrum, known as "white space" are a very valuable commodity. Wi-Fi expansion into this new white space is only possible if the FCC agrees to take these frequencies away from the broadcasters who have been using them for decades. Internet companies see room for expansion: bandwidth for the next generation of high-speed wireless devices and services. Visions of expanding "mesh networks" are dancing through their heads.
The economic consequences of this decision could be enormous. Will the FCC side with the powerful TV interests or will they open up the spectrum for future development of digital gadgetry and wireless services? How best to serve the public?
According to Schatz, here is what the Wi-Fi proponents have in mind:
Unused parts of the spectrum, known as "white space" are a very valuable commodity. Wi-Fi expansion into this new white space is only possible if the FCC agrees to take these frequencies away from the broadcasters who have been using them for decades. Internet companies see room for expansion: bandwidth for the next generation of high-speed wireless devices and services. Visions of expanding "mesh networks" are dancing through their heads.
The economic consequences of this decision could be enormous. Will the FCC side with the powerful TV interests or will they open up the spectrum for future development of digital gadgetry and wireless services? How best to serve the public?
According to Schatz, here is what the Wi-Fi proponents have in mind:
"'I like to think of it as Wi-Fi on steroids,' Google co-founder Larry Page told FCC lawyers, congressional staff and lobbyists in June during his first lobbying trip to Washington. "It would make a huge difference for everybody."Here is a WSJ video report on an FCC test of the technology that would allow for a more efficient sharing of the airwaves:
White-spaces fans see a world in which empty TV channels could be used to deliver cheap, high-speed wireless Web access to consumers without forcing them to buy a latte. They envision installing a few antennas over a wide area to create a "mesh" network that delivers wireless Internet service. Previous efforts to do that with Wi-Fi antennas haven't been that successful, because their signals are weak and as a result the networks required a large number of antennas.
Letting wireless gadgets share TV-station airwaves could unleash a boom in new consumer electronics not seen since Wi-Fi took off about a decade ago, say companies including Google and Intel Corp., which are lobbying heavily for sharing.
"We have medical devices, laptops, even toys that are starting to incorporate Bluetooth. We want the wireless revolution to continue, but the little spectrum we have won't get us there," says Neeraj Srivastava, director of technology policy at Dell Inc."
Labels: Access, Broadband, FCC, Wifi
