FCC Taking White Spaces Training Abroad
Commission creating International TV White Spaces fellowship and Training Initiative.
By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 1/9/2009 7:04:00 AM
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin is carrying the torch abroad for using the so-called TV white spaces for advanced wireless services.
The chairman announced Friday that the FCC was creating a new International TV White Spaces Fellowship and Training Initiative. FCC engineers will work with international regulators on technical issues around using the white spaces and provide training in an effort to "build momentum" for the initiative.
Last November, the FCC concluded that it was technically feasible for TV broadcasters to share their channels with remote, unlicensed devices like laptops without causing undue interference to new DTV television service. Broadcasters disagreed, arguing that FCC testing demonstrated there was an interference problem.
The commission will also launch a Web site on using white spaces for wireless broadband.
Martin has long argued that using white spaces can advance the rollout of broadband. The announcement comes the day after President-elect Barack Obama made ubiquitous broadband access a cornerstone of his economic recovery plan.
The FCC’s Office of Engineering and Technology and its International Bureau will administer the fellowship program.
