The Next Wireless Frontier - TV White Spaces

Presented at DEF CON 15 (2007), Aug. 4, 2007, 2 p.m. (50 minutes)

More unlicensed bandwidth from TV!?! A long-term push to free up more wireless spectrum is expected to come to fruition this year as the FCC will open up unused TV channels - dubbed "white spaces" - for unlicensed broadband use this fall, with full-blown availability in 2008 once the DTV transition takes place. Dell, Google, HP, Intel, Microsoft and Philips have joined together in the "White Spaces Coalition" to lobby for a spectrum sensing technology to find open TV channels while Motorola has submitting a more conservative proposal combining a geolocation database with spectrum sensing. Microsoft has gone so far as to submit a prototype device to the FCC to allow the regulatory agency to explore and evaluate cognitive radio and spectrum sensing technologies. Is more unlicensed wireless bandwidth just around the corner? What is the promise of TV whitespace spectrum? What opportunities will there be to create new software and new devices? What are the "gotchas" in the various proposals? What is the latest information out of the FCC on White Spaces device?

Presenters:

  • Doug Mohney - Editor, VON Magazine
    Doug Mohney is Editor-in-Chief of VON Magazine (www.vonmag.com) and a contributor to Mobile Radio Technology (www.mrtmag.com). He has been following the 700 MHz changes and white spaces happenings for three years.

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