Microsoft steps into the spectrum space race

The great and the good from the media and telecoms industries will gather in Cambridge on June 29 for the launch of an eagerly awaited technology trial. Microsoft is leading a consortium that will investigate whether radio spectrum not wanted for transmitting terrestrial television can instead support a new generation of mobile broadband networks.

These infrastructures – and the spectrum to support them – are likely to be badly needed if consumers are to make the most of Internet-connected smartphones such as Apple’s iPhone and those featuring Google’s Android software. In big cities, the bandwidth-hungry iPhone has been overloading some mobile phone operators’ networks, and smartphone users wanting to watch data-rich video such as YouTube often find the best way to do so is at WiFi hot spots. WiFi is a technology enabling short-range wireless data connections that then plug into fixed-line networks; the arrangements usually provide faster broadband download speeds compared to mobile operators’ infrastructures. The trial in Cambridge will look at whether some of the spectrum designated for transmitting digital TV could be used to create super WiFi networks in towns and cities.