With an unprecedented demand for mobile devices and services expected in
the near future, the scramble is on for the one thing all cell phones,
PDAs, iPhones and other wireless devices need: spectrum.
But outside of the much anticipated January 700 MHz auction, the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) isn’t planning on selling anymore
spectrum at this time. Tech hopes to change that with several proposals
now pending before the agency.
From the interference buffer zones between television stations to space that some claim is underutilized and could be used for wireless broadband
services, new “smart” radio technology and other innovative ideas are
prompting the FCC to reevaluate its spectrum policies.
White spaces fall into gray regulatory area
Although broadcasters are allocated hundreds of megahertz of spectrum in
every U.S. television market, significant chunks are unused, serving as
buffers against interference from other channels. In Boston and Chicago,
for instance, almost 50 MHz is fallow.
Technology companies such as Microsoft and Google hope to use these
interference buffer zones, known as “white spaces,” to develop both
licensed and unlicensed wireless devices and services. Licensed use
could include delivering wireless broadband.
The interference buffers were once considered necessary because older
technologies required more space between the television
channels. But the White Spaces Coalition, which includes Microsoft, Dell
and HP, claims new technology allows for the use of the
space between the channels without interference to the broadcasters.
According to the coalition, technology exists that scans for TV channels in
use and jumps to unused spectrum in the white spaces. To prove the
point, Microsoft in March submitted a prototype model to the FCC.
Unfortunately for the coalition, the prototype failed the initial FCC
tests, because it did “not consistently sense or detect TV broadcast
or wireless microphone signals,” the FCC report states.
Microsoft claims the device tested by the FCC was broken and a second
device, also in the FCC labs, works well.
“Coalition members are encouraged that FCC engineers did not find fault
with our operating parameters and remain confident that unlicensed
television spectrum can be used without interference,” the group said in
a statement. “In fact, in its report, the FCC stated that ‘the bench test
results indicate that under laboratory conditions, this device is
generally able to reliably detect DTV signals.'”
The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) pointed to the FCC report
as proof the device doesn’t work.
“FCC testing results confirm what NAB…and others have long contended:
that the portable, unlicensed devices proposed by high-tech firms can’t
make the transition from theory to actuality without compromising
interference-free television reception,” NAB Executive Vice President
Dennis Wharton said in a statement.
To the disappointment of the NAB, however, the FCC said it was still
open to the possibilities of using white space spectrum. “The devices we
have tested represent an initial effort and do not necessarily
represent the full capabilities that might be developed with sufficient
time and resources,” the report states.
Even before Microsoft submitted its prototype, the FCC was interested in
white spaces technology, contending that broadcasters’ original fears of
interference are perhaps unjustified in a technological age that
includes smart radio transmitters and receivers.
In 2004, the FCC launched an investigation into the technology.
Allowing unlicensed operations in the TV bands would extend the existing
service range of wireless Internet service provisions since
transmissions in the TV spectrum travel further and can better penetrate
buildings. The FCC proposal would also permit low-power unlicensed
devices such as laptop Wi-Fi cards, wireless keyboards and network
routers to use what is known as the white spaces between broadcast channels
5 to 51.
Testing continues at the FCC.
Next page: But how about another option?
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M2Z networks wants a different deal
M2Z Networks has a deal for the U.S. government: at its own expense, the
Menlo Park, Calif.-based company will build a nationwide wireless broadband
network offering free, advertising-supported, high-speed service to
virtually all Americans within 10 years.
The basic free tier of service
would provide speeds six times faster than dial-up and offer filtering
at the network level to make it family friendly and accessible to children.
All M2Z asks in return is for the FCC to front the spectrum necessary to
build the network. In return, M2Z would pay the government a 5 percent
royalty for premium services available on the network, such as
faster-speed tiers.
That, however, is not how the FCC does business. Over the last decade,
the agency auctions off available spectrum to the highest bidder.
According to a number of press reports, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin is
circulating a proposal to reject the M2Z plan.
“Our model is the same as free, over-the-air television,” M2Z CEO John
Muleta, the former head of the FCC Wireless Bureau, told
internetnews.com. “You plug it in and get free service. It’s
great public policy since more than 100 million Americans don’t have
broadband.”
The spectrum that M2Z wants to use is not part of the January 700 MHz
auction. In fact, Muleta claims, the spectrum is fallow and
underutilized, a contention questioned by Verizon, AT&T and other
carriers that use the spectrum for microwave backhauling.
“We’re using it, aren’t we? How can that be considered fallow?” one
carrier executive said last week.
The FCC decided in 2000 the space should be eventually vacated for
advanced wireless services, but little movement has actually
occurred. Studies are under way to structure rules for the new space.
“There are currently a small number of microwave users using the
spectrum and, under our proposal, we will pay them to relocate,” Muleta
said. “[Microwave use] is not the highest and best use of that spectrum.”
M2Z submitted its proposal more than a year ago with the FCC statutorily
required to make a “public-interest” determination on M2Z’s license
application by May 5. That hasn’t happened, and last week, the company
threatened to take the FCC to court if it doesn’t make a decision on the
M2Z proposal by Sept. 1.
“The FCC should at least consider the proposal,” Muleta said. “But in
Washington you don’t want to tweak the noses of AT&T and the other
carriers.”
