By Roy Mark
September 21, 2007 

Microsoft and Philips claim new testing shows no interference between unlicensed broadband use and television channels.  

Based on a new round of field trials, Microsoft and Philips are asking the Federal Communications Commission to renew testing on devices that can access the Internet using empty buffer spectrums—known as white spaces—between television channels. 

Microsoft and other members of a powerhouse group of technology companies called the White Spaces Coalition covet the spectrum as an alternative to telecommunications and cable companies delivering Internet connections. Broadcasters, in particular, are opposed to the concept, fearing unwanted and harmful interference with their signals. 

In July, the FCC put a damper on the whole idea when it said testing on a prototype supplied by Microsoft failed to consistently sense or detect TV broadcast or wireless microphone signals. The White Spaces Coalition said the FCC inadvertently used a defective device.

In new testing, though, Microsoft and Philips claimed success.

“In over 1,000 measurements, made in many varied locations in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and California, the test devices were 100 percent successful in detecting television stations’ [signals],” Microsoft, based in Redmond, Wash., said in a Sept. 21 statement.

 Microsoft and Philips said in the FCC filing that their finding “significantly expands previous testing beyond the laboratory to the field, further confirming that unused TV spectrum can be used to bring the benefits of high-speed Internet access to more Americans, without interference to the signals of incumbent licensees.”  

Source: http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,2186762,00.asp

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