Motorola Submits Beacon to FCC, as Agency Wraps Up White-Spaces Order
Motorola last week demonstrated and submitted a prototype beacon to the FCC’s Office of Engineering and Technology as part of the commission’s consideration of whether to allow the use of unlicensed mobile devices for Internet access using the TV white spaces. The commission could require the use of beacons to help protect mikes, which already use the white spaces.
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Google and Microsoft have proposed that wireless microphones be required to emit a beacon warning that the spectrum is occupied. In June, the White Spaces Coalition, which represents the major companies pushing unlicensed use of the spectrum, supported the use of beacons.
Steve Sharkey, Motorola senior director of regulatory and spectrum policy, said in an interview Friday that broadcasters and wireless microphone maker Shure originally called for the use of beacons to protect mikes. “Then they recently said, ‘Nobody has ever built a beacon,'” he said. “'We have problems. We don’t think it will work.’ In response to that, we built a beacon and built it in the specs that are being develop in the IEEE 802.22.1 Group.”
Shure has said the FCC’s engineering office should put the beacon to harsh tests to make sure the technology works. “It’s going to be up to the OET to make that decision,” Sharkey said. “They've got equipment and it’s fairly straight forward. I don’t think there’s a need for them to delay moving forward on the proceeding to do another round of testing.” Sharkey said Motorola submitted the device now only because of concerns raised by Shure and the broadcasters. Work has been going on in the standards body, he said. “We didn’t want to go off and provide a beacon to the FCC that didn’t reflect that work,” he said.
Sharkey said Motorola believes that the FCC has an adequate record to allow unlicensed use of the spectrum, with the geolocation database that has also been demonstrated by his company. Sharkey said he hopes the FCC approves an order this year.
“Beacons can be used to supplement channels for wireless mics, for a specific location and time period, e.g., for remote news operations or a concert venue,” Motorola said in a filing at the FCC. It also argued that the commission could set aside two channels, varying by market, that could be entered into the geolocation database for protection. “If needed, channels for wireless mic usage at specific permanent venues or significant pre-planned events (e.g., Superbowl) could be added to the database for protection,” Motorola said.
In a filing with the FCC, the Association for Maximum Service TV said Vice President Bruce Franca met with OET staff to discuss white-spaces field tests recently completed. Franca, a former OET deputy chief, questioned whether beacons will protect wireless microphone users. He said “that since the devices failed to correctly detect high power TV operations there is little or no likelihood that such devices can correctly detect low power beacons,” the filing said.
MSTV also said it supports the use of a geolocation database to protect TV viewers, but Motorola’s “proposed power computations will not protect TV viewed in all situations,” particularly in urban areas close to DTV transmitters.