Hello, Claudville, Va., the home of the nation's first
deployed wireless TV white spaces network. The FCC (Federal Communications
Commission) voted a year ago
to allow the unlicensed use of the interference
buffer zones -- known as white spaces -- between digital television signals to
deliver broadband and other advanced media services.
Under an experimental license granted by the FCC, Spectrum Bridge designed and deployed the wireless
TV white spaces network to distribute broadband Internet connectivity in
Claudville. Dell, Microsoft and the TDF Foundation contributed state-of-the-art
computer systems and software applications to the local school, as well as the
town's new computer center.
"I hope that Claudville will become a model for delivering broadband
services to more rural communities in a cost-effective manner in the
future," Rep. Rick Boucher (D-Va.), chairman of the House Subcommittee on
Communications, Technology and the Internet, said in a statement.
The TV white spaces network is providing the "middle mile" link
between the wired backhaul and the Wi-Fi hot spot networks deployed in
Claudville’s business area as well as the local school. The same network
is also providing last mile broadband connectivity directly to end users.
To ensure that the use of TV white spaces in Claudville does not cause
interference with local TV signals, the network is controlled by Spectrum Bridge’s intelligent TV white spaces
database system. This database assigns non-interfering frequencies to white
spaces devices and can adapt in real time to new TV broadcasts, as well as to
other protected TV band users operating in the area.
"Due to its availability and
range, TV white spaces have proved to be a very cost-effective way to
distribute high-speed Internet in this heavily forested and hilly rural
community," said Peter Stanforth, CTO of Spectrum Bridge. "The non-line
of sight conditions, coupled with long distances between radios, would have
posed significant challenges to existing unlicensed alternatives. TV white
spaces could prove to be invaluable to those striving to bring broadband access
to underserved and unserved rural communities."
The FCC white spaces decision came
after a six-year proceeding at the agency that pitted broadcasters and a wide
array of entertainment interests that were using the spectrum for the operation
of wireless microphones against such powerhouse technology firms as Google, Microsoft, Intel, Motorola and Intel. Both
Microsoft's Bill Gates and Google's Larry Page personally lobbied the FCC in
favor of the use of white spaces.
The FCC's testing of devices operating in the
white spaces was the cause of much dispute during the FCC proceeding. The FCC began testing white space devices with mixed results in
January 2008 using a prototype device supplied by Microsoft. In July, the
agency moved the tests outdoors using devices from Motorola, Philips, Adaptrum
and InfoComm International. By October of last year, the FCC said testing
proved white spaces devices would not cause interference. 
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