Google Inc. co-founder Larry Page urged the Federal Communications Commission Wednesday to give companies unlicensed access to vacant television channels before November's election.Google and other technology giants like Microsoft Corp., Dell Inc. and Motorola Inc. want to use the vacant channels, sometimes called "white spaces," for high-speed wireless service that could be accessed by yet-to-be-built mobile devices and laptops. TV airwaves are very powerful and can penetrate walls and travel long distances.
Broadcasters, as well as wireless-microphone manufacturers whose products sometimes operate on the vacant channels, are concerned that these devices could cause interference with their signals.
"All the FCC needs to say is that we will allow people to use the spectrum in an unlicensed way if their devices don't interfere," Mr. Page said at a briefing in Washington sponsored by the Wireless Innovation Alliance, a coalition lobbying for access to the empty channels.
In addition to Google, Microsoft, Dell, and Motorola, the coalition includes consumer advocates, civil-rights groups and rural organizations who think opening up the channels could make the Internet more accessible in remote rural areas.
FCC engineers completed a series of field and lab tests this summer on prototype white-space devices to determine whether they could detect and avoid live TV channels and wireless microphones. The devices generally were able to detect the signals, although industry engineers on both sides said there were some hiccups. The FCC's engineers are now compiling the information to share with the agency's five commissioners.
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, who favors giving companies unlicensed access to the vacant airwaves if there isn't interference, said on Tuesday that he wants the commission to act before the end of the year, but he hasn't committed to voting on the white-spaces proposal before the election.
Responding to Mr. Page's comments Wednesday, FCC spokesman Robert Kenny said, "We'd like to see the spectrum used more efficiently." Mr. Page wants the FCC to act quickly, because he fears agency decisions could get bogged down after the election or with the arrival of a new administration.
By: Fawn Johnson
Wall Street Journal; September 25, 2008
