White Spaces Action Slow as FCC Focuses on National Broadband Plan

The FCC Office of Engineering and Technology in late November sought proposals from companies that hope to be designated as TV band device database managers, a critical next step to opening the white spaces. The FCC must still approve database rules and address several outstanding petitions for reconsideration on the 2008 order. In addition, the commission must deal with a court challenge that has been on hold pending action on the reconsideration petitions. If the FCC reallocates broadcast spectrum, that could also raise major questions about the white spaces.

FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell said he hopes the FCC will move quickly to complete its work on the white spaces. “We haven’t heard much from the white spaces proponents since the historic November 2008 vote, yet use of unlicensed devices in this space not only would bring great consumer and economic benefits, but help to resolve a lot of public policy concerns such as net neutrality,” he said in an interview Friday. “I think the delay in moving forward to implement white spaces may be blamed in part on the change in administrations and the time it took to set up a new FCC. I would prefer to see us work more diligently on this project, however, which just 13 months ago was considered a top priority for the commission in a strongly bipartisan way.”

McDowell said the white spaces should be part of the National Broadband Plan’s likely focus on spectrum management issues. “It is my hope that white spaces will be a cornerstone of that discussion,” he said. “At the same time, I welcome other ideas to be put on the table regarding spectrum management, even though, at first blush, some of those ideas may run counter to what the commission accomplished with the white spaces last year.”

“From a timing perspective, it would seem to be a good complement to the broadband plan in February to come out with action on the white spaces, to show they're implementing it, moving forward on their broadband plan right away,” said an attorney who was active in the white spaces proceeding. “The FCC has been doing these inquiries and asking all these questions. Where’s the action? It just seems like one of those low-hanging opportunities that’s hard to resist. … You have to have a starting line first.”

Public Knowledge Legal Director Harold Feld noted that Bruce Gottlieb, a top advisor to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, mentioned the white spaces as one of the spectrum initiatives getting FCC focus, during remarks Wednesday to NTIA’s Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee. “I think the FCC is still committed to it,” Feld said. “There is a concern that if a cloud of uncertainty settles on white spaces, because we don’t see further progress in a timely way or because the proposals around broadcast clearance would seriously reduce the available spectrum, then we could see developers and investors drift off. This is what happened with ultra-wide band.”

Feld predicted the first network equipment using the white spaces could be out as early as January 2011, if the commission resolves remaining issues by next summer. He said he wasn’t certain when consumer devices would hit store shelves. “I believe the situation is comparable with the 3.65 GHz band,” he said. “There, we had initial rules in 2005. Things got delayed until the Commission resolved the outstanding recons in summer 2008. The first equipment for high-powered base stations for networking was on the market 6 months later, and we have seen steady growth in interest and deployment, with Airspan getting approval for a device that uses the full 50 MHz of the band, rather than the 25 MHz open for standard WiMAX.”

The first consumer devices may not be available for several years, said Steve Sharkey, Motorola senior director of regulatory and spectrum policy. “We would need the FCC to fix its rules and resolve the database issue before there’s any real development,” he said. “I would anticipate that the earliest it could happen is mid 2010. Assuming 12- to 18- month product development, that would put it at mid 2011 to early 2012.”

“Things are progressing nicely with the TV white spaces,” said a high-tech industry attorney. “It did take longer than expected for the FCC to issue its Public Notice on the geolocation database, but … industry players have spent the intervening time constructively, developing the concepts and framework necessary to support a successful database. We anticipate that the FCC will be able to take final steps on approving a database construct in the spring of 2010, which would clear the path for initial commercial operation by the end of 2010.”

Several vendors are taking a cautious approach. Nokia and Nokia Siemens Networks continue to monitor the white space regulatory proceedings, including developments on the database proposals, a spokesman said. Neither company has made commercial announcements in this area yet. Cisco is also monitoring at this time, a spokeswoman said. Dell won’t offer any white space devices until there is a demand, a spokeswoman said. That will take time as the FCC continues to establish guidelines, she said. But the company recently participated in a white space test in Claudville, Va., she said. The test was conducted under an experimental license granted by the FCC to Spectrum Bridge. It went well and showed how the white spaces can be used for connecting unserved rural areas, she said. Microsoft participated in the test as well.