Tech Companies Band Together to Govern White Space Band

By Contributor Wireless and Mobile News on February 5, 2009 1:26 PM

Seven leading technology companies has banded together to promote the timely creation and operation of a white spaces database and govern use of the vacant television broadband spectrum (aka white space).

Founding members of the White Spaces Database Group include Comsearch, Dell, Google Inc., HP, Microsoft Corporation, Motorola Inc., and NeuStar.

Their goal is to bring the benefits of white spaces to consumers as soon as possible. The Group will establish data formats and protocols that are open and non-proprietary and will advocate that database administration be open and non-exclusive.

In November 2008, the Federal Communications Commission unanimously approved the use of white spaces spectrum by unlicensed devices. Pursuant to that decision, white spaces devices will be required to access a white spaces database to determine available channels before transmit capabilities are engaged. After eight months of thorough laboratory and field-testing, the Commission established geo-location based methods are fully adept at identifying television signals and preventing interference.