First public white spaces broadband network is alive in Virginia

Network World - The first public white spaces network officially launched on Wednesday in Claudville, Virginia. It is uses sensing technology from Spectrum Bridge with software and Web cams supplied by Microsoft and PCs supplied by Dell. The project was funded the TDF Foundation.

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White spaces are services that run in the unused portion of television spectrum, and have been called "WiFi on steroids" by Google founder Larry Page. The battle for white spaces has been going on for years. IT companies like Microsoft, Dell and Google lobbied in favor of opening up the spectrum for data services, particularly broadband Internet access, while those in the broadcasting industry vehemently opposed the idea, even going so far as to create an advertising campaign to make consumers believe that white spaces would hurt television quality.

Almost a year ago, in November, 2008, the FCC voted to allow carriers and other vendors to deploy devices in the unlicensed white spaces spectrum at up to 100 milliwats, and up to 40 milliwats on white space spectrum adjacent to TV channels. However white spaces will support bigger bandwidth for faster downloads over longer distances than WiFi. It also is less prone to interference from walls and other obstacles.

One condition the FCC placed on would-be white spaces providers at the time is that the devices would need sensing capabilities that would automatically shut them down should they interfere with television. Devices were also to have access to a geo-location database to track them by their IP address or media-access-control address or a radio-frequency identification tag. Once the database had a fix on the device’s location, it was to be able to select the optimal white-space spectrum for the device and switch the spectrum as the device moves.

Spectrum Bridge provided the database that ensures the white spaces devices in Claudville do not cause interference with local TV signals. "The database assigns non-interfering frequencies to white spaces devices, and can adapt in real time to new TV broadcasts, as well as to other protected TV band users operating in the area," the company explains.

Dell was surprisingly quiet about its specific contribution to this white spaces network. Microsoft had original developed a prototype device that was trounced on at the time by the enemies of the white spaces idea, the National Association of Broadcasters. Tests of those early devices by the FCC were said to show that they did indeed cause the feared interference with television signals, though Microsoft said that the device tested must have been defective. A second round of tests on a new Microsoft prototype device didn't have the same problems.