[opendtv] Re: News: Second White Space Bill Would Shorten Timeline
- From: "Bob Miller" <robmxa@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sat, 20 Jan 2007 10:26:15 -0500
Heard in the "cloak room". "OK first we let others use unused channels
with smart radios. Later we identify channels that are on the air but
which no one is watching and take them off the air. A little
interference will only help."
Bob Miller
On 1/20/07, Craig Birkmaier <craig@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
http://www.tvtechnology.com/pages/s.0015/t.795.html
Second White Space Bill Would Shorten Timeline
January 19, 2007
Another white spaces bill is being rolled out in the Senate, this
one with a shorter implementation timeframe than the first.
The White Spaces Act of 2007 from Sen. John Sununu (R-N.H.) would
allow unlicensed devices into fallow broadcast channels within 90
days of enactment or Oct. 1 of this year, whichever comes first.
Last week, Sen. John Kerry re-introduced his Wireless Innovation Act,
a rerun of one of the items in the erstwhile telecom package that
stalled in the Senate. The resurrected WIN Act, as it came to be
referenced, had a 180-day time window.
The Senate bills do not take into account the DTV transition nor the
channel-selection process currently under way. Both simply emphasize
the use of spectrum. Kerry's contention is that it will be used to
deploy wireless broadband in rural areas. Sununu supports the cause
in the name of product innovation.
"Broadcast spectrum that is otherwise unused represents a new
frontier for product development," he said in a statement. "By
removing barriers that prohibit access to white spaces, there is
enormous potential for entrepreneurs to bring products to market that
are now beyond imagination."
Sununu said his bill would consider a licensing scheme, an option
still under review on an open docket at the FCC. The commission's
procedure, which demonstrates far more cognizance of the DTV
transition than the Senate bills, would not allow devices designed
for white space use to be sold until after the analog deadline of
Feb. 17, 2009. There may be stations that day that conceivably
flash-cut to channels presently unused.
In accordance with a timeline set forth last September, within a
month, the FCC approved fixed low-power devices for use in fallow
broadcast channels, also referred to as "white spaces." In March, the
FCC lab will issue a report on the interference capabilities of DTV
receivers. A report evaluating the interference potential of proposed
devices will be published in July, bearing in mind that the nature of
such devices remains undefined. They could encompass anything from
wireless home routers to mobile comms devices; manufacturers have not
divulged specifics.
By October, the FCC intends to issue an order on the final technical
requirements for white space devices, and in December the lab will
accept certification applications.
Sununu's bill would override the FCC timeline.
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