Reps. Respond to Google’s White-Spaces Rally
Reps. Jim Cooper, Carolyn Maloney still not sold on FCC testing of unlicensed wireless devices.
By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 9/24/2008 9:27:00 AM
A pair of legislators was quick to respond Wednesday to a Capitol Hill event backed by Google promoting the use of the so-called white spaces between digital-TV channels for unlicensed wireless devices.
Google and others argued that using the spaces is good stewardship of the airwaves and that they can be used to deliver wireless broadband without messing up TV signals. Broadcasters disagreed, as did many wireless-microphone users, the latter of which already share the spectrum with broadcasters.
In a release issued Wednesday, the same day as the Capitol Hill event, Reps. Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.) and Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) said they remained unconvinced by Federal Communications Commission testing of the devices.
"The FCC, in its own labs and in the field, has not proved that these white-space devices can reliably detect the presence of a wireless microphone or a TV signal,” they said. “We can all agree that FCC policy should foster innovation and encourage the efficient use of public airwaves, but new changes must not come at the expense of wireless microphones, which provide an important public good."
The fact that the two reps are from New York and Tennessee is no coincidence. Representatives of Broadway and the Grand Ole Opry have both expressed concerns about unlicensed white-spaces devices -- a point the pair acknowledged in their release.
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