White Space Rules Go Into Effect Jan. 5, 2011

The rules governing the use of unlicensed devices in TV white spaces will officially go into effect Jan. 5, 2011.

The rules, adopted by the Federal Communications Commission in September, have been published in the Federal Register, the final step of codification. The FCC first issued an unlicensed devices order in 2008 and received 17 petitions of reconsideration. The September order was modified in response to those petitions. Issues addressed included protection for TV signals, reservation of two channels for wireless microphones and technical rules for the devices, e.g., power levels and the method for identifying unoccupied spectrum. Said method involves having the devices communicate their coordinates to a database tracking open and unoccupied TV channels. The September order did not name a database manager. As of September, nine companies submitted proposals to manage the database for unlicensed devices. At the time, the FCC had not yet decided if it would choose one or multiple managers.

The nine in the running include Google, Comsearch, Neustar, Key Bridge Global, KB Enterprises with LS Telcom, Frequency Finder with RadioSoft, WSdB LLC, Spectrum Bridge and Telcordia Technologies.