White Spaces and the FCC: A Decision Behind It and a Challenge Ahead

[Commentary] The benefits of the Federal Communications Commission's white spaces order will likely be greater in rural areas, where spectrum congestion is not an issue even after the digital transition.

As long as the FCC lives up to the Prime Directive of not causing interference to existing inhabitants of the TV band, the benefits of better utilization of spectrum are hard to dispute. The FCC needs to keep an open mind as it implements its proposed use of white spaces. A well-performing database that keeps licensed and unlicensed operators adequately separated is in everyone's interest. If some of the FCC's initial conclusions need to be rethought in order to accomplish that, those discussions will be healthy ones. Equally important is ensuring that equipment manufacturers fastidiously comply with the FCC's interference protocols. Broadcasters are rightly concerned that non-compliant or just poorly designed and manufactured unlicensed devices can cause immense damage, and the FCC lacks the tools to put the genie back in the bottle should that occur. Fining such manufacturers after the fact won't help much if millions of interference-inducing devices are already out there interfering with the public's ability to watch TV, listen to a sermon, or attend a Broadway show. As the FCC proceeds down this path, getting it right is going to be far more difficult than just getting it done.