WhiteSpacesCoalition
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White Spaces Coalition launches DB Group, letting devices find their own piece of the spectrum
The white space debate over how (or whether) to utilize unused frequencies in the broadcast spectrum has been going on for nearly two years now, and, despite all the ups and downs (and fear mongering), the various members of the White Spaces Coalition have continued to fight the good fight in the hopes of bringing faster downloads to more places. The latest initiative/olive branch is the formation of the White Spaces Database Group, mapping areas of unused spectrum and enabling devices to verify what frequencies are available based on positional information (likely GPS or cell tower triangulation). It's still early days so there aren't any details about the database itself yet, except that the group intends to keep things "open and non-proprietary" and will work with the FCC to populate it. Now, can't we all just get along and work toward a summer of worry-free wireless?[Via ars technica]
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]
