Sunday, April 8, 2007

Opening up the White-space!

Google, Microsoft, Dell, Intel, HP and othes major technology companies have submitted a proposal to the FCC to allow them to take advantage of so-called "whitespace" to make internet available through traditional TV airwaves.

The way it works is that there are radio channels and TV channels and there are channels (the whitespace) in between the two to prevent the signals from "bleeding" into one another.

Now, the consortium mentioned above wants the FCC to let them use these "idle" channels to beam internet access straight to your home! Microsoft has introduced a prototype to the FCC that prevents bleeding from happening and the group is eagerly awaiting a decision.

Think about the new levels of access this would grant companies if this is allowed!

See the link below for more information

http://www.bizreport.com/2007/03/microsoft_google_dell_hp_intel_phillips_lobby_for_highspeed.html

2 comments:

Phil Provost said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Phil Provost said...

If the quality of the wireless Internet is decent enough within TV spectrum, I think this would certainly be a "disruptive" technology that could bring high speed Internet access to many people in the world not currently served by cable/DSL connections.

My concern, however, is that the current prototype of the technology is being developed by Microsoft and the company may not in the future be willing to share its intellectual property and technology in a way that encourages its widespread adoption.

The technology may face significant hurdles if it requires FCC approval to "open up" the TV spectrum.

There may even be strong opposition and lobbying against the technology by the cable and telephone industries.