RSS - Regulations, Statutes and Standards TMC

Sparring Match Continues Between NAB, White Spaces Coalition

February 25, 2008

There's an ongoing dispute between the National Association of Broadcasters and the White Spaces Coalition.

First, a brief introduction to the players.

The White Spaces Coalition is a coaltion of leading technology companies that want the vacant white space of the television spectrum to be opened up in 2009 for more wireless options, including long-range signals. Members include Microsoft, Google, Dell and Philips.

The latest dust-up between the two powerful bodies involves recent testing of a wireless broadband device intended to facilitate white space use.

Last week the NAB put out a press release claiming that in a test overseen by the FCC, the device had failed due to power utilization problems.

Not so, the White Spaces Coalition says.

PC World reports that a wireless broadband device tested by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission for interference with television and wireless microphone signals has not failed, as a broadcasting group claimed last week, members of the White Spaces Coalition say.

Suspicions run high, largely because NAB and its members suspect that once this technology is enabled, it will run the risk of interfering with tv signals.

White spaces devices are "not ready for prime time," said Dennis Wharton, the NAB's executive vice president.

As for now, FCC testing will continue for at least another couple of weeks.

And you can bet the war of words will continue far longer than that.




Related Tags: , , , , ,

Listed below are links to sites that reference Sparring Match Continues Between NAB, White Spaces Coalition:

Trackback Pings

TrackBack URL for Sparring Match Continues Between NAB, White Spaces Coalition:
http://blog.tmcnet.com/mt3/t.fcgi/35257

Comments to Sparring Match Continues Between NAB, White Spaces Coalition


(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)