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FCC to test "white spaces" devices again

After last year's rather crushing blow to the so-called White Spaces Coalition (now known as the Wireless Innovation Alliance) -- when the FCC gave failing marks to a potentially-defective Microsoft-built device (pictured above) designed to receive wireless broadband transmissions over gaps in the broadcast spectrum -- the agency has now confirmed that it is ready to re-evaluate a second round of devices from Redmond, Motorola, Philips, and startup Adaptrum Inc. Should these devices prove resistant to interference over the three month testing period, the coalition plans to release commercial products to coincide with the digital TV transition in 2009, with a spokesman for the group lauding the FCC-set timeline as "reasonable."

[Via Slashdot]