Reclaiming the Vast Wasteland

On May 13, 2004, the Federal Communications Commission approved a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) proposing to allow a new generation of wireless devices to utilize vacant television channel frequencies in each market. This so-called TV band “white space” consists of frequencies that are allocated for television broadcasting but are not actually in use in a given area. The FCC's proposed rulemaking is pending but currently inactive. The proposed rules are intended to make way for technologies that utilize unlicensed spectrum, such as Wi-Fi, to utilize the prime TV band spectrum to offer wireless broadband services. Wi-Fi technology has become very popular at higher frequencies, and has had a positive impact on the growth of broadband services. However, the bands used for Wi-Fi do not have appropriate radio propagation characteristics to serve low population densities. Lower frequency spectrum, such as that used for TV broadcasting, is capable of traveling longer distances at a given power level, and can better penetrate obstacles such as buildings and trees. The FCC's proposal would promote both spectrum efficiency and wireless broadband deployment. The authors conclude: The FCC made a reasonable and important proposal in May 2004 to give unlicensed access to under-utilized TV band frequencies to devices that meet rigid technical specifications. The FCC has proposed several alternative means to ensure there would be no harmful interference to television reception or to public safety operations, as required by law. The ability of "smart radio" technologies to avoid interference is well-established, and technology industries have suggested additional improvements. A comprehensive record has been established at the FCC. Legislation that mandates an end to the DTV transition will have the side effect of removing a major uncertainty affecting this proposal. The other concerns about interference raised by the broadcast interests in this proceeding can be easily resolved through normal rulemaking.