Spectrum Bridge Submits Report from Public Trial

The FCC TV white spaces database public trial period has come to an end. The 45 day trial started on September 19th and was successfully completed on November 2nd. Spectrum Bridge formally filed a Summary Report of the TVWS database trial which can be found here on the FCC’s electronic filing system.

We are now one step closer to the official certification of the world’s first TV white spaces database solution. The FCC and OET have done an outstanding job throughout the process of moving the concept into a real-time working solution. The FCC will now open the floor for the comment period, which allows all interested parties to submit any final comments.

As a result of the completion of the 45 day trial, we have respectfully requested that the FCC certify the database solution. We believe that this technology has the potential to revolutionize the wireless industry as it can be implemented in additional spectrum bands to help alleviate the spectrum scarcity issues currently facing the wireless industry. We look forward to seeing your comments about the trial and implementing a live solution to wireless users in the very near future!

-Andrew Pielack, Communications Coordinator

Clearing the Air in TV White Space

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) along with the Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) released an order in January of this year to allow nine companies to conditionally serve as the TV Bands Device administrators for the idle TV spectrum known as “TV white spaces.” In doing so, the database administrators and device manufacturers need to collectively work together to certify a solution that should soon be available to consumers by year’s end. There have been numerous trials helping to establish the unlicensed spectrum as a viable means to provide broadband availability and additional applications at a greater capacity throughout the U.S.

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski has been a major advocate of the unlicensed spectrum bands, even labeling the TV white spaces as “Super Wi-Fi’ due to the superior benefits compared to other unlicensed spectrum such as Wi-Fi. He has stated that this is the largest release of unlicensed spectrum in 25 years and could expand high-speed internet across the country.

Recent speculation hints that Congress would prefer to repurpose spectrum for mobile broadband and the remainder to be auctioned off with the expectations of generating billions of dollars. This would leave little room for wireless technology and innovation to expand throughout the industry.

Mr. Genachowski spoke last week at the TV White Spaces Summit in Washington, D.C. and addressed some of the concerns within the industry by saying, “after incentive auctions and repacking - there is strong bi-partisan support for unlicensed spectrum, 40% of iPhone traffic is Wi-Fi, and 90% of iPad traffic is Wi-Fi. Bandwidth over Wi-Fi will exceed wired in 2015 which justifies the strong support for unlicensed and very confident that it will stay that way.”

Spectrum Bridge strongly believes that the TV white spaces are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to spectrum access and allocation not only on an unlicensed basis, but licensed as well. TV white spaces have been esteemed as one of the FCC’s highest priorities and will continue to revolutionize the wireless industry much in the same way Wi-Fi did 25 years ago. Chairman Genachowski concluded his Q&A by saying, “It is important for the country that this is a success.”

- Chris Duffus, CFO

Spectrum Bridge Selected as TV Bands Device Database Administrator

Yesterday, an order was released by the Federal Communications Commission and the Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) conditionally appointing Spectrum Bridge as a TV White Spaces Database Administrator. This follows the FCC’s unanimous approval of the white spaces rules from September 23rd, allowing for the use of unused TV spectrum by new broadband networks and devices.

We would like to extend our thanks to the FCC and the OET for their decision to appoint Spectrum Bridge as one of the TV White Spaces Database Service Providers. This decision is a critical step in the white spaces proceeding, paving the way for great innovation in technology, and will help to realize the potential of unlicensed spectrum and spectrum databases as solutions for alleviating the spectrum shortage. As Chairman Genachowski said in his speech at the Consumer Electronics show in January, “the future success of this wide-ranging industry and others depends on whether our government acts quickly to unleash more spectrum -- the oxygen that sustains our mobile devices.”

TV White Spaces are positioned to play a major role in the future of wireless technology, and we, along with other major industry players, will continue to develop and demonstrate technological innovations in this space. Our four trial networks, showcasing a multitude of applications, are a testament to our success in TV White Spaces, and we are looking forward to bringing this success to a commercial level.

We have also released an updated version of our TV White spaces search tool, ShowMyWhiteSpace, in accordance with the FCC’s updated white spaces rules. The updated version includes enhancements to the interactive TV White Space Map and channel query interface, accessible via our website. Visit our website to learn more about our database, or partnering with Spectrum Bridge.

- Neeraj Srivastava, VP of Marketing & Business Development

Unanimous Decision by FCC to use TV White Spaces

Today, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) held its open commission meeting in Washington DC, with the decision to authorize the usage of TV White Spaces, at the top of their agenda. After two years of discussions, the FCC unanimously voted to approve the use of this unlicensed spectrum, the unused TV broadcast channels made available by the transition from Analog to Digital TV last year.

Specific items were addressed during this meeting and decisions made included:

• There was no spectrum sensing requirement mandated on the TV White Spaces Devices, though the Commission encouraged use and development of the technology as confirmed by Julius Knapp’s statement, "[This begins a] New Era of Innovation and Investment for Unlicensed Devices".
• In every market,wireless microphones would be reserved as a protected entity. Commissioner Baker supported this decision stating "First rule of dynamic spectrum allocation; do no harm [to incumbent spectrum holders]".
• Large wireless microphone users can register with the Commission for protected entity status in a White Spaces database for a specific time, place and duration as long as channels above 7 are in use.

Spectrum Bridge and our Partner’s accomplishments, regarding our White Spaces trial networks in Claudville, VA, Wilmington, NC, Plumas Sierra, CA and Logan, OH, were noted by the Commissioners as driving this order to this decision point today. It was also stated that the TV White Spaces technology can and will be used in other unlicensed as well as licensed bands and will be a road map for future technology as well as U.S. spectrum allocation policy.

Most noticeably left to the Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) for further discussions were the awarding of the TV White Spaces Database Administrators and TV White Spaces usage regarding border restrictions with Canada and Mexico.

Chairman Genachowski summed up the discussions stating “TV White Spaces is about making the US more globally competitive." Spectrum Bridge’s next deployment utilizing its Spectrum Sharing technology will explore the global potential of TV White Spaces spectrum, enabling new technology and providing an alternative solution to meet the increasing worldwide need for broadband spectrum. To learn more about Spectrum Bridge’s past trial networks, or to stay up to date on future deployments, visit http://www.spectrumbridge.com.

Chris Duffus, Vice President of Corporate Development