Anxiety Grows Among Companies Seeking Unlicensed Use of TV White Spaces
Anxiety is rising among advocates of opening broadcast white spaces to use by personal, portable devices that FCC action could take much longer than expected, pushing rollout of devices into 2010 or later. FCC Chairman Kevin Martin will be in Las Vegas this week at the Consumer Electronics Show, where he has meetings set up with the high-tech sector and questions about the technology are expected.
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The FCC Office of Engineering and Technology has yet to commit to testing or to even indicate when it will release a public notice on tests, sources said. Companies like Microsoft and Dell, active advocates of opening the white spaces, had hoped for the rollout of devices in March 2009, after the DTV transition and in time for the 2009 Christmas buying season.
An FCC spokesman said Friday the commission is committed to working with all parties to test and evaluate prototype devices in a process that is open and transparent, and that prototypes are still being delivered to OET. Nothing has changed since release of a public notice in November committing to “a testing program, including field testing,” which will be open to interested parties, the spokesman said.
Advocates of unlicensed use of the white spaces say they now fear that testing could get pushed into the spring and summer and a report on the tests would take several more months to write. The FCC then would not have to make a decision until late 2008 or even 2009. Under that scenario, if the FCC agrees that white spaces devices can be used without causing harmful interference, the first devices would not be in stores until 2010.
“We think there is a great opportunity for the American public,” said an industry source. “We really think we can do this without interfering.” Device makers are on hold until the FCC acts, the source said, saying it will probably take a year for the first gear to hit the market after the FCC approves an order. “No one is building a commercial product until they're sure they can have a product to sell,” the source said.
The FCC initially was expected to consider a white spaces order in October. Some companies such as Motorola, Microsoft and Philips Electronics North America have submitted devices for testing. But a decision will be controversial, angering either broadcasters, who oppose opening the spectrum to unlicensed use, or high-tech companies.
White spaces advocates will turn to Capitol Hill for help, asking lawmakers to pressure the FCC to complete a proceeding, industry sources said. Companies and groups including Google, CompTIA, Information Technology Industry Coalition, VON Coalition, Tech Net, New America Foundation, Media Access Project, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Public Knowledge and Free Press have called for FCC action.
Proponents also plan to cite the Dec. 13 decision by the U.K. Office of Communications to reallocate TV spectrum freed up through the digital transition there to other uses, including ultra-fast wireless broadband services. Ofcom plans a consultation in the spring to decide the best use of this spectrum. A consultation is the equivalent of an expedited rulemaking by the FCC.