Find Available Licensed Spectrum Online

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In answer to the FCC’s request for making spectrum more readily available and easier to obtain, there have been a variety of methods created for license holders and new entities looking to complete spectrum transactions. Many of these exist in the spreadsheets on the desks of traditional Spectrum Brokers, but the standout of the wireless industry is called SpecEx.

As the online marketplace for spectrum™, SpecEx allows unequalled access to frequencies currently being offered by license holders. Dubbed “the eBay of wireless spectrum,” a visitor of SpecEx.com can quickly search available licenses by radio code, frequency band, location and more.

SpecEx also acts as a service to request specific frequencies of spectrum across the US. If a visitor cannot find what they are searching for in the exchange’s database, the site accepts spectrum requests from members and non-members alike. With their secondary market knowledge, SpecEx associates help find frequencies and even post requests to the “Wanted Ads” section of the Website.

With a next-generation exchange like SpecEx, professionals have a streamlined way to sell, lease, partition, disaggregate, time share and purchase spectrum; just as the FCC has envisioned. In a world where we hear the phrase, “spectrum scarcity” used so often, this online exchange provides instant access to available spectrum and removes previous roadblocks of secondary market spectrum transactions.

Next in the series, we’ll discuss the Future of TV White Spaces

New Spectrum Solutions Allowed by the FCC’s Secondary Market Initiative

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In recent years, the FCC has taken significant steps to facilitate the development of secondary markets and spectrum usage rights. Through these efforts, a number of options have opened up that allow efficient usage of limited frequencies like never before.

GEOGRAPHIC PARTITIONING is one solution. Let’s say that in a hypothetical situation, a company called “TriCounty Telephone” operates in a tricounty area. They have been awarded a license that covers 12 counties in a BTA. Knowing that their business plan allows them to operate in 3 counties only, what can they do with the remaining 75% of the license? Through geographic partitioning, they can operate in their three counties and sell or lease the remaining nine counties to create additional revenue streams – thereby earning money off a day to day business model, as well as incurring a new revenue stream from the remainder of the partitioned license.

In another case, let’s say that “Mobile Corp” won the A block of AWS for 20 MHz, but they know through market research and demographics studies with a spectrum management tool that they will only ever need to use 10MHz. What can Mobile Corp to do with the remaining 50% of the license? The answer is DISAGGREGATION.










By dividing spectrum (disaggregating) into smaller portions in the frequency domain, they can use what is needed and monetize the remaining overage. The flexibility in secondary market rules promote spectrum efficiency and allow commoditization of spectrum assets.

TIME SHARING is another way that companies can create an additional revenue stream from spectrum. Let’s say that there is a utility company wishing to do meter reading between the hours of 12 and 4am. It may not make sense for a company to purchase spectrum to satisfy spectrum they would use only 15% of the time. An option for a utility they may consider is time sharing; where they could allow another entity to rent spectrum for a set period of time.

Spectrum Bridge products make it easy to move beyond the wholesale mentality and create “right-sized” spectrum offerings that create more flexibility and affordability to buyers, while creating higher ROI for sellers. Demographic and analytic tools built into offerings such as SmartWaves can be used to determine which counties to focus networks on, thereby leaving the remaining underused spectrum to be offered on an online marketplace for monetization.

Next in the series, we’ll discuss the online marketplace for spectrum…

The Opening of the Secondary Spectrum Market

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The secondary spectrum market was created by the FCC to enable “spectrum to flow more freely among users and uses in response to economic demand.” The Commission recently put out a Notice of Inquiry on the secondary market and how it can be more efficient. They want to encourage spectrum holders who have licenses to put them to use – whether that’s through selling, leasing, partitioning, disaggregating, etc. For the vision to work there needs to be a favorable regulatory environment and a favorable market – and the time is NOW.

One of the most vocal commissioners working on secondary market rules and driving the initiatives behind them is Meredith Attwell Baker. In a recent interview with The Hill, Commissioner Baker stated:

“We need a more vibrant secondary market. I’m talking about more spectrum sharing between private and federal. There’s going to be a lot that can be done in those areas that almost all depend on a better database. One of the recommendations you’re going to see is a more user-friendly, a more thorough database that can be used on an hour-to-hour, minute-to-minute basis.” “We need to find more spectrum, I think we need to leverage the spectrum that exists currently more efficiently, and we need to encourage new technologies an innovation.”

- FCC Commissioner Meredith Attwell Baker, November 24, 2009

Commissioner Baker is encouraging the secondary spectrum market to find alternative uses for spectrum, to find more efficient uses of spectrum, and to build a centralized database that allows utilization of spectrum on an as-needed basis.

With new spectrum possibilities forming, a license holder has more opportunities and options to engage in spectrum transactions, whereas a seeker of licensed frequencies will see more spectrum available than originally thought (search available licenses). Due to the favorable regulatory environment, favorable FCC rulings, and being able to re-task traditional uses of spectrum, new applications are being developed.

Spectrum is an asset that is no longer being sought after by carriers alone. Nontraditional players are now getting into the spectrum arena, not for the core of their business model, but as end-users of spectrum. Federal initiatives are impelling more spectrum ownership by utilities, railways, and private enterprises:

• Utilities are purchasing AMTS and former IVDS spectrum for smart grid applications
• New entrants from railroads seeking positive train control (PTC) solutions are using 220 MHz for intelligent transportation systems
• New entrants, service providers and private networks looking to utilize TV white spaces

Through spectrum asset management tools, an online spectrum marketplace and an enhanced TV white spaces database, Spectrum Bridge is enabling the new and expanded uses of wireless spectrum. We offer a range of scalable solutions to meet the needs of the smallest of local enterprises to the largest global spectrum holders and users.

Next in the series, we’ll talk about some possible scenarios for private enterprises looking for a spectrum solutions…

Spectrum Bridge Launches First iPhone Application for TV White Spaces

Here's your freebie for the day:

Now you can find out what TV White Spaces channels are available wherever you are--directly from your iPhone--for free.

Created by Spectrum Bridge, "ShowMyWhiteSpaces" is the first iPhone application for locating available TV White Spaces channels anywhere in the US.

TV White Spaces availability varies significantly across the country. With our new iPhone app, users simply enter the address or areas they are interested in finding TV White Spaces bandwidth and get a list of available channels and frequencies.

What can you do with TV White Spaces? Expect to use them for powering many existing services--and some new ones as well:

• High-speed Internet connections to SmartPhones, netbooks and laptops
• Extended range and reliability of home and enterprise WiFi networks
• Power new long-range cordless phone and video systems, create reliable whole-house media distribution and many other innovative new bandwidth intensive applications
• Create a cost-effective wireless communications network for a broad range of enterprise and industrial applications including smart grid, smart city, telemedicine and other advanced mobile internet applications

The best part is you get to enjoy this small piece of TV White Spaces history for free.

To download your free application, visit the Apple Inc. iPhone App store.

For more information on TV White Spaces and their potential applications, visit the ShowMyWhiteSpace.com website, or SpectrumBridge.com. Also, you can now download the free app for the Android. Click here for more information.

Enjoy!

Will Two New Spectrum Bills Identify More Spectrum for Americans?

Last week, the House Communications Subcommittee approved two bills that are critical steps in uncovering more of one of our most precious natural resources: radio spectrum. (A companion bill sponsored by Senate Commerce Communications Subcommittee Chairman John Kerry, D-Mass., is pending.) These bills are more than just good news for the wireless industry; they’re good news for all American consumers, and the country as a whole.

Many Americans may be blithely unaware that the nation is on the verge of a looming spectrum scarcity crisis, perhaps because unlike petroleum, natural gas—or even solar or wind—our radio air waves are a natural resource that you can’t see, smell or feel. As consumers, our first hand personal experience of the spectrum shortage may be limited to when we experience dropped mobile calls, or can’t get an Internet connection. We might blame our carrier for poor service but don’t understand that our airwaves are a finite resource that is experiencing explosive demand. Many don’t realize how much our nation depends on wireless for our critical infrastructure – for utilities delivering smart grid and other power solutions and public safety services providing urgent communications – as well as our national defense. We might not pause to reflect on how wireless technologies help keep America competitive in a global economy. Some of us don’t even realize we are consumers of spectrum; we love our Blackberry’s, iPhones and laptops – and now our netbooks, iPads and whatever is “next”. We’re happy consumers of technology that entertains us and helps us communicate in new and amazing ways.

The good news is that the FCC has been steadily working toward evolving and improving how our spectrum is managed and allocated in recent years, from approving a secondary market for spectrum, to creating a national broadband plan, to freeing up TV white spaces, the broadcast waves left dormant by the Digital TV transition. Last week’s spectrum legislation will help us dig deeper into how efficiently spectrum is being used and where pockets of idle spectrum exist.

More good news for consumers: While companies have been developing all of the cool new gadgets you want next, Spectrum Bridge has been quietly but swiftly developing new technologies for increasing spectrum availability and efficiency. The new gadgets consumers will enjoy in the future will be made possible through spectrum allocation software born in our labs. In fact, many of the wireless gadgets and services you use now are already supported by a host of Spectrum Bridge tools and technologies.

In 2008 we launched the world’s first online spectrum exchange, SpecEx.com. SpecEx.com is helping thousands of organizations access spectrum on the secondary market for their wireless operations right now. We’re finding new life for old spectrum – by repurposing certain types of spectrum for new applications.

We’re helping companies find more spectrum through geo partitioning, disaggregation and other on-demand leasing strategies, and helping them maximize their spectrum assets and find new opportunities with SmartWaves, our innovative spectrum intelligence software, all right now.

We’ve been at the forefront in developing mixed spectrum solutions and in developing a groundbreaking TV white spaces database that is helping people all over the US locate available TV white spaces channels in their areas, right now. In October of 2009, under an experimental license, Spectrum Bridge launched the world’s first TV white spaces network, bringing high speed broadband Internet access to the citizens of Claudville, Virginia. Claudville is online right now. (We’ll be updating everyone with a bigger status report on the network and the tremendous impact it has had on the Claudville community in this blog next week.)

We applaud the House for approving these bills for a thorough inventory of the nation's communications spectrum. As FCC Commissioner Meredith Atwell Baker recently said, we need to “leverage the spectrum that exists more efficiently” and “encourage new technologies and innovation.” These two bills will now move to the full House Energy and Commerce panel for consideration, where we hope they will receive equally quick action. American consumers, businesses, our critical infrastructures, and the future of our national best interests deserve nothing less.

Meanwhile, the team at Spectrum Bridge continues to support wireless spectrum needs now and for what’s next. With the spectrum bills in place and many of Spectrum Bridge's innovative spectrum efficiency tools and technologies already in progress, our ultimate vision for making more spectrum available for wireless applications, Universal Spectrum Access, will usher in a more prosperous wireless nation.

We’re working on it, right now.

Video Interview with Chairman Genachowski on the Spectrum Shortage

Fortune taped an interview with FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski at the 2010 CES show in Las Vegas. Below is about 60 seconds of the interview where he talks directly to the spectrum shortage.

Spectrum Bridge was formed several years ago when the company founders realized that wireless networks would face increasing bandwidth and coverage constraints due to a lack of available spectrum. To address this Spectrum Bridge has brought several revolutionary products and services to market as part of a multifaceted approach to:

• Increasing access to all types of spectrum.
  
• Improving allocation to better match available spectrum to network and application demands
• Helping network operators more efficiently use spectrum to deliver more bandwidth

These products and services include:

1. SpecEx:The online marketplace for spectrum®. Find over $500 million of secondary market spectrum available for sale or lease - online.
2. SmartWaves: The industry's leading spectrum asset manager and business analytic solution.
3. ShowMyWhiteSpace TV white spaces database: This database powers the world's first TV white spaces wireless network in Claudville VA, as well as ShowMyWhiteSpace.com - where anyone can conduct a simple and free search to find available TV white spaces at any location in the United States. Spectrum Bridge submitted a proposal to the FCC to be named a white spaces database manager on January 4th.
4. Universal Spectrum Access: Using database driven dynamic spectrum allocation to cost-effectively identify, manage and optimize spectrum use within (and across) wireless networks and application.

We’d like to hear from you about the impact that spectrum scarcity is having on your business or industry.

• How has spectrum availability influenced your business or industry’s wireless growth or expansion?
• What wireless services and applications do you see experiencing the biggest impact by spectrum availability?
• What do you think should be done from a policy or technical standpoint?
• What solutions are you employing or planning to deal with this issue?

Rick Rotondo
CMO & Co-Founder
Spectrum Bridge Inc.

Will TV white spaces users be charged database access fees?

Since the TV white spaces database manager proposals were filed earlier this month, we’ve noticed that there is a misconception circulating in the media that the majority of database managers are proposing to charge end users to access the white spaces database. If you review the actual proposals filed with the FCC, this is not the case.

It appears that there are only two of the nine proposals explicitly contemplate (as one possible way of collecting fees) charging the end user directly for access to the white spaces database. Additionally, only one of the proposals suggests that users will be charged multiple times or on an annual basis.

In the other proposals where user fees are discussed, charging the end user was not considered to be a real option. Given that the FCC is likely to choose one or more of the companies that do not intend to charge end users any fees, it appears that white spaces users will have multiple database managers to choose from who are not planning to charge any user fees. Spectrum Bridge is one of the companies that does not plan on charging end user fees.

Also, per the FCC's request, most the database manager proposals noted that they would provide free access to the database for incumbent and protected entities (like TV stations, wireless microphone users, etc) who currently use TV broadcast frequencies. Some of the proposals did not address this issue.

Several of the proposals (depending on how you interpret the responses) discuss or leave open the possibility of relying on a onetime "database fee" that gets built into the cost of the white spaces device at the time of purchase. This would cover the operation and maintenance of the database and would be similar to fees commonly paid by manufacturers - who often license software or technology from third-parties. Even in this scenario, there are no recurring database fees that the end user will pay to use the device or spectrum; the database fees would be included in the initial purchase price of the white spaces device.

Taking a sightly different approach than the rest of the proposals, at least two of proposals also suggest that they would consider charging TV white space network operators an initial and/or an annual fee based on the number of devices they manage in their network.

We all need to keep in mind that the business models, fees and other aspects included in the database manager proposals will likely get refined and altered by competitive market forces. Competition from multiple database managers will likely keep costs low, while potentially leading to new features and services that will help make TV white spaces a wireless resource we will all benefit from.


Rick Rotondo
CMO