“White Space” for Backhaul Services or Mobile Internet Access

• Posted: Tuesday, January 08, 2008
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• Author: pradhana
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• Filed under: Mobile Content, Wi-Fi, WiMax, Wireless Service

Sprint and T-Mobile have told the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that they support the idea of opening up white space spectrum -- that unlicensed spectrum that sits between airwaves currently licensed to TV broadcasters.

While Google, Microsoft and others have been lobbying the FCC to open up white space spectrum for unlicensed super WiFi devices, Sprint and T-Mobile are advocating that white space spectrum be granted on a fixed-license basis for wireless backhaul services.

"Because backhaul comprises a significant cost for wireless carriers, and incumbent local exchange carriers' special-access charges are exorbitant, Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile must find more affordable alternatives to the ILECS's special-access offerings," the operators told the FCC.

Earlier this year, a group of high-tech companies that include Google, Intel, Dell, HP and Microsoft, which collectively formed the White Space Coalition, delivered to the FCC two WiFi devices the group claimed operated in this spectrum without interfering with high-definition TV.

However, the FCC's Office of Engineering and Technology has found through preliminary trials of the prototypes that "the transmitter in the prototype device is capable of causing interference to TV broadcasting and wireless microphones."

White space is certainly a more favorable alternative for a company that would be required to bid billions for spectrum and spend billions more to build out a network in the 700 MHz band -- especially if it desires to just build a network solely to offer wholesale access to resellers.

While most of the wireless industry is gearing up for the January 700 MHz spectrum auction, Google, which intends to bid in that auction, is also investigating the "white spaces". Google and others would like to use this spectrum to carry mobile Internet devices.

While past efforts by Google, Microsoft, Philips and others for prototypes that run on the white spaces were largely rejected by the FCC, Google has since decided to go it alone with its own tests. The company presented results of an "initial phase of ongoing trials" around white space technology that it says demonstrates that digital televisions and wireless microphones can exists side-by-side without interference. [FierceBroadbandWireless/FierceWireless]

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