July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

Well, that was fun while it lasted.

The Washington Post reported earlier this week that the U.S. Federal Communications Commission is planning nationwide Wi-Fi networks. The ensuing storm of coverage debated the pros and cons of free, national wireless coverage, with predictable reactions from the left and right ends of the spectrum.

There’s just one problem: The FCC has no such plans.

A closer look at the FCC website reveals that what the Post’s article is actually talking about (and it’s hard to tell, because the Post doesn’t link to it) is the commission’s proposal to reserve some new bands of wireless spectrum for free, unlicensed use.

Here’s the background: The FCC is getting ready to auction off additional chunks of wireless spectrum, including the “white spaces,” which are currently-unused bands of spectrum in between those allotted to different broadcast TV channels. These frequencies are attractive to broadcasters and wireless technology makers because they can transmit signals over long distances and through obstacles better than today’s Wi-Fi can.

Unlicensed spectrum means you don’t need to get an FCC license to use it. For example, the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands used by today’s Wi-Fi signals are unlicensed, so anyone can broadcast whatever they want in these frequencies, within certain limits (you can’t transmit with too much power, for instance).

Before the auction can begin, the FCC — informed by public comments — needs to decide exactly which chunks to auction, and which ones to reserve for public use. It’s a long and complicated process. Contained within the FCC’s Oct. 2 auction notices, which kicked off the latest phase of the process, are statements by FCC chairman Julius Genachowski about the importance of unlicensed spectrum.

“In addition to unleashing licensed spectrum, we also propose to free up a significant amount of unlicensed spectrum for Wi-Fi-like uses,” Genachowski wrote in a public statement released in October. “Today’s proposal would create the world’s first nationwide unlicensed spectrum band suitable for robust wireless broadband, on contiguous low-band frequencies.”

Technology companies like Google and Microsoft would love to have more unlicensed spectrum to play with, but broadcasters and wireless carriers want to preserve their competitive advantage (and the value of the spectrum licenses they’ve paid billions of dollars to buy) by minimizing the amount of unlicensed spectrum that’s out there. That’s why carriers keep trying to kill the FCC’s white spaces proposal.

Genachowski’s comments recognized that the proposal was already controversial, but it came down firmly on the side of unlicensed innovation:

Surprisingly, there’s been some disagreement on this. But this is a time to be embracing and extending WiFi-like uses of spectrum, as we take unprecedented steps to free up a very substantial amount of spectrum for licensed use. Unlicensed spectrum has a powerful record of driving innovation, investment, and economic growth – hundreds of billions of dollars of value creation for our economy and consumers. Why would we turn our back on WiFi-like innovation, particularly when we can unleash both licensed and unlicensed spectrum?

When I contacted the FCC for comment today, Neil Derek Grace, a spokesman for the commission, said, “The FCC’s incentive auction proposal, launched in September of last year, would unleash substantial spectrum for licensed uses like 4G LTE. It would also free up unlicensed spectrum for uses including, but not limited to, next generation Wi-Fi. As the demand for mobile broadband continues to grow rapidly, we need to free up significant amounts of spectrum for commercial use, and both licensed and unlicensed spectrum must be part of the solution.”

So there you have it. The FCC is not building a nationwide Wi-Fi network; it just wants to clear the way for companies to build next-generation wireless technologies without having to buy licenses from the government. Also, no free rainbows and ice cream for everyone.

You can still have a pony, though. You’re welcome.

July 9-10, 2013
San Francisco, CA

Early Bird Tickets on Sale

The Federal Communications Commission voted unanimously today to open up empty broadcast TV spectrum — so-called “white spaces” which exist between TV channels — for a next-generation mobile broadband technology it’s calling “Super-WiFi.”

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said that white space networks will “open a new platform for American innovation“ and lead to billions of dollars in industry investment.

Companies like Google, Microsoft, Dell, and HP have been planning on ways to use the spectrum for some time. White spaces are ideal for mobile broadband because they can carry large amounts of data, go through walls easily, and offer miles worth of range. Google praised the decision in a blog post and said that it was pleased the agency “rejected calls to enact burdensome and unnecessary constraints that would have made it more difficult to deploy useful technologies on these airwaves.”

As part of the decision, the FCC will create a national database of broadcast TV channels and major wireless microphone users (theaters, churches). White space networks and devices will have the ability to find their own location and consult the database to avoid conflicts. The agency originally voted to open up white spaces for mobile broadband two years ago, but TV broadcasters  and wireless microphone manufacturers and users raised concerns about potential interference. The database announced today should help avoid those issues.

While the use of white spaces may sound like mobile internet heaven, the FCC and big tech companies may be overstating the spectrum’s value, according to Martin Suter, VP of business development at BelAir Networks. In a TechCrunch comment, Suter pointed to an earlier post he wrote on why the promises behind white space networks may be overblown — particularly when it comes to estimated range and bandwidth figures.

But even if Suter is correct, white space networks will be helpful to rural areas of America where it’s difficult to implement cable, DSL, or fiber broadband access.

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