War over "white space" continues

WAR OVER "WHITE SPACE" CONTINUES
[SOURCE: Lasar's Letter on the FCC, AUTHOR: Matthew Lasar]
Two major broadcasting associations continue to press the Federal Communications Commission not to fast track unlicensed personal, portable devices that tap into "white space" -- unused analog TV channels. They argue that: 1) The White Space Coalition has not demonstrated that their safeguards for unlicensed devices will prevent signal interference, even within a family home. Thus their safeguards may be "ineffective to prevent interference to nearby neighbors," MSTV/NAB claim. 2) The coalition has not submitted data that refutes MSTV/NAB assertions that portable devices "would pose a threat to broadcasters." MSTV/NAB says that the FCC has recently released studies that confirm their fears "that TV receivers can have worse performance when multiple interfering signals are present." 3) Reliance upon spectrum sensing technology alone will not prevent TV band devices from intruding on occupied television channels. The signal power limits that the White Space Coalition recommends for its spectrum detecting devices may not be sufficient to prevent such intrusion. 4) NAB/AMST also charges that white space device interference ranges are comparable to the signal power of cell phones that communicate with towers miles away, "not merely the same home or next door as suggested by the Coalition and others."
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