FCC Approves Google-Backed Plan to Free TV Airwaves

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Tim Pozar <pozar () lns com>
Date: November 4, 2008 5:51:29 PM EST
To: dave () farber net
Cc: ip <ip () v2 listbox com>, Dewayne Hendricks <dewayne () warpspeed com>
Subject: FCC Approves Google-Backed Plan to Free TV Airwaves

Last Updated: November 4, 2008 17:47 EST

FCC Approves Google-Backed Plan to Free TV Airwaves (Update1)

By Molly Peterson

Nov. 4 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. regulators agreed to free up unused
television airwaves for wireless Internet access, handing a victory to
Google Inc. and rejecting claims by broadcasters that the plan would
disrupt TV signals.

The proposal, approved unanimously today by the Federal Communications
Commission, would let unlicensed devices use the vacant channels, known
as white spaces, if they come equipped with anti-interference
technology. Mobile-phone makers such as Motorola Inc. would have to
obtain FCC certification for each white-space product before putting it
on the market.

The plan will promote wireless innovation while requiring safeguards to
protect broadcasters from interference, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said
at the meeting. ``We've been very cautious in our approach,'' he said.

Google and Microsoft Corp. say the plan would expand Americans' Internet
access, especially in rural areas. White- space devices will tap into
free, wireless Web access, while providing a wider range of coverage
than today's Wi-Fi technology. Google co-founder Larry Page has likened
the white spaces to ``Wi-Fi on steroids.''

Microsoft Chief Strategy Officer Craig Mundie said last week that if the
FCC approved Martin's plan, white-space devices might be available in 12
to 18 months. Microsoft would make software for the products, he said in
an interview.

Prototype anti-interference technology submitted by Motorola, Royal
Philips Electronics NV and Adaptrum Inc. worked as intended during
months of laboratory and field tests, the FCC's Office of Engineering
and Technology said in an Oct. 15 report. The technology, if built into
white-space devices, could prevent harm to TV signals, according to the
report.

Broadcast Disruptions?

Broadcasters, including CBS Corp. and Walt Disney Co.'s ABC, said the
report contradicted data collected during the FCC tests, which were open
to the public. They had urged the commission to delay the vote by at
least 70 days so people could comment on the engineers' findings. The
white-spaces plan could disrupt TV signals for millions of viewers,
broadcasters say.

The new devices will cause interference for over-the-air and cable
television viewers, David Donovan, president of the Association for
Maximum Service Television, a broadcasters' trade group, said in a
statement after the vote.

``The commission chose a path that imperils America's television
reception in order to satisfy the `free' spectrum demands of Google and
Microsoft,'' Donovan said.

Wireless microphone manufacturers and users say the plan also threatens
to disrupt their audio equipment. More than 100 recording artists,
including Miley Cyrus and Clay Aiken, asked the FCC last week to set
aside at least eight vacant channels in each market for wireless
microphones.

Martin said the plan takes steps to protect wireless microphones,
particularly those used by large venues such as sports arenas and
Broadway theaters.

Google gained $20.45 to $366.94 at 4 p.m. in Nasdaq Stock Market
trading. The shares have declined 47 percent this year.

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