Having organized a coalition to promote open networks to the Federal Communications Commission with some success, Google has launched a new effort in support of “white spaces” called Free the Airwaves.
White spaces are the static between channels. According to Google on a new Web site promoting the Free the Airwaves initiative, more than three-quarters of those airwaves are not being used. Google cofounder Larry Page has described the potential as “Wi-Fi on steroids.”
‘A Revolution in Wireless Services’
“This vast public resource could offer a revolution in wireless services of all kinds, including universal wireless Internet,” the Free the Airwaves site proclaims. It adds that the FCC will soon make a decision about whether this unused spectrum should be made available for public use, and asks visitors to sign its petition and “spread the word.”
Supporters of using the white spaces contend that services not offered today, such as universal wireless online access, could be provided. Google’s newest effort, like the one in favor of open networks, joins with other companies and with public-interest groups.
The Free the Airwaves consumer effort is now allied in the same cause as the White Space Coalition, an industry group whose members include Google, Microsoft, Dell, HP, Intel, Philips, EarthLink, Samsung and others. The coalition has developed a device that, with “smart” reception that intelligently separates received signals, can utilize white spaces for such goals as 80Mbps download speeds to homes.
Such access could also dramatically affect broadband access in rural and smaller markets. Opponents, such as the TV industry’s Association for Maximum Service Television, say that utilizing white spaces will interfere with transmissions by licensees of the channels.
‘Clear Business Interest’
Google has had some success this year in lobbying the FCC. After efforts by an alliance led by Google, the FCC required that the auctioned C block of…