WhiteSpace Alliance predicts US will move on TV

The WhiteSpace Alliance (WSA) said that completion of the recent FCC spectrum incentive auction will make the United States a prime market for TV white space deployments.

“The completion of the incentive auction will remove regulatory uncertainty and free up more than 80 MHz of spectrum for licence-exempt wireless internet access,” said Dr Apurva N Mody, chairman of WSA.

“TV white space technology can now enable broadband services to be delivered cost-efficiently across the United States, especially in rural and underserved users.

“We have seen innovative applications in medical, military and home markets from use of unlicensed spectrum in 2.5 GHz ISM bands.

“This newly available spectrum will support additional digital infrastructure development across the United States and help foster the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT).”

The FCC’s auction process provided a financial incentive to current holders of TV broadcast spectrum licensees to voluntarily give up usage rights so that spectrum could be reallocated.

‘Repacking’ the resulting spectrum band will create a significant amount of spectrum to become available for white space use on a database driven, licence-exempt basis.

“The FCC has already established a comprehensive regulatory framework for managing spectrum in the TV bands. International technical standards for TV white space products have been in place for some time,” said Dr Mody.

“Making sufficient spectrum available to the marketplace is the final step needed to unleash a critical mass of innovative services. WSA will continue to work actively with the Federal Communications Commission to evaluate and shape regulations for TV band white spaces.”

Image courtesy NIST.

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