FCC Bans Marketing White-Space Devices Pre-DTV Deadline
An FCC order on use of white spaces bars marketing of devices designed to operate in vacant TV bands before Feb. 17, 2009, when the DTV transition ends, according to the order, made available Wed. by the Commission. The FCC cut off any sale of devices even in the weeks before the deadline.
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Sources said Wed. that in 2004, when the FCC first eyed opening white spaces, advocates like New America Foundation and high-tech companies hoped for sale of “pretransition” devices as early as this year, once rules were issued for the pre-deadline period. Those hopes faded as the FCC took longer than expected to approve use of white spaces.
“It was thought if we could get this going… it would be worth it, because we'd have those 3 extra years and then after 2009 we'd come up with a different set of technical standards, possibly a different set of techniques, possibly the same techniques, just different tolerances,” a source monitoring the rulemaking said: “The FCC just stalled so long that it no longer makes any sense to try to come up with pretransition rules.”
“We will allow low-power TV band devices to be marketed immediately after the end of the DTV transition on February 17, 2009, but not before,” the order said: “The risk of creating uncertainty that would impede the DTV transition outweighs the benefit of allowing operation of low power devices at a slightly earlier date, especially given that some proponents of low power devices have indicated they would need up to 21 months after the adoption of final technical rules to bring such devices to market.”
The Commission doesn’t say whether white spaces should be made available licensed or unlicensed, drawing no “tentative conclusion” in the rulemaking (CD Oct 13 p2). But the order cites reasons unlicensed use may make more sense.
Spectrum classified white spaces could change, the order said. “Wireless licensees in the TV bands could potentially lose their ability to operate on some, or even all, of their authorized frequencies when new operations with higher allocation status are authorized to operate in the same area,” the FCC said: “If protection of incumbents is required, devices operating in the TV bands would need to operate at lower power levels than are typical of many licensed services.”