DISQUS

DISQUS Hello! The Technology Liberation Front is using DISQUS, a powerful comment system, to manage its comments. Learn more.

Community Page

The Technology Liberation Front

The Technology Liberation Front is the tech policy blog dedicated to keeping politicians' hands off the 'net and everything else related to technology.
Jump to original thread »
Author

Google, the NAB, and a Third Way in ‘White Spaces’ Debate

Started by TLF · 11 months ago

Google co-founder Larry Page came to Washington last week to take on the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), the lobbying group that represents over-the-air television stations. It’s a whole new adversary for the beleaguered broadcasters, who have been fighting cable and sate ... Continue reading »

7 comments

  • dmarti

    1 year ago

    You don't need to allocate for unlicensed use a whole 50MHz band at a time. Why not allocate a small slice, and if people like it, allocate more? Or a device vendor such as Cisco could put up the seed money for a Dominant Assurance Contract to bid on a spectrum "unlicense."

    http://www.marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevol...
    reply
  • Drew Clark

    1 year ago

    Don,

    Exactly. A band manager (including a Cisco/Google/Microsoft) could allow unlicensed transmissions under the terms that it sets for the band that it owns or controls.
    reply
  • Drew Clark

    1 year ago

    All,

    I've also posted a sidebar, laying out some of the spectrum numbers, at http://drewclark.com/spectrum-math
    reply
  • andyinsdca

    1 year ago

    Please lose the crappy background. Black text on grey stripes is IMPOSSIBLE to read.
    reply
  • Ryan Radia

    1 year ago

    Drew, excellent overview of the white spaces debate. The trouble with central planning of the spectrum is irresolvable disputes over how to use frequency bands.
    Letting so much valuable frequency lie fallow to give broadcasters peace of mind is probably not what would happen if a free market existed for spectrum.

    At the last telecoalition meeting, somebody tossed out the idea of a 80/20 allocation. Auction 80 percent of the spectrum with property rights, and leave the remaining 20 percent for unlicensed, open use subject to reasonable restrictions on effective radiated output. Sounds good to me.

    You also make a good point about broadcasters ceasing over-the-air transmissions. Considering how few people actually watch local TV via an antenna, perhaps the 300mhz currently used for TV broadcasts could be put to a better use, one that's valued by a larger number of people.
    reply
  • Towerguy

    1 year ago

    If one also considers the existing low powered television stations (LPTV) in NY, DC and Philly, there is very little "white-space" avaiable - just considering the full service allotments alone does not tell the entire story.
    reply
  • annktrembley

    2 months ago

    So does that mean that Google is right, and that vacant broadcast channels should yield to broadband? It’s important to fidelity 401k consider an alternative – auctioning off at least a portion of the white space. The effort to do this has been promoted by CTIA, the wireless association, in March 2008. FCC Chairman Kevin Martin may be open to it.
    reply

Add New Comment

Returning? Login