12/29, 10:05am
TV converter coupons low
A recent rush in coupon demand may force some analog TV owners to pay full price for digital converter boxes, warns Massachusetts Representative Ed Markey. Reuters writes that Markey, evalauting the US government's subsidy for the converters, has called for an influx of money from Congress to pay for more coupons, the demand for which may soon outstrip supply. The converter program is currently expected to hit its $1.34 billion budget limit in early January, which may mean no new coupons after late January, or at least until some existing ones are officially unredeemed.
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11/04, 8:15pm
FCC approves white space
A recent push for the FCC to approve unlicensed use of wireless spectrum white space was successful today, allowing Google and other companies to introduce a new implementation of wireless technologies. TechCrunch reports that the measure has met great resistance from telecom companies and sports leagues, with both claiming it would interfere with devices on licensed airwaves. Google and the FCC scoffed at the reasoning.
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08/18, 4:20pm
Google whitespace campaign
Google is aiming to bring public opinion to bear on white space technology, company bloggers have announced. As a member of the White Spaces Coalition, Google is pushing the FCC to authorize the technology, which would take advantage of the frequencies between over-the-air TV broadcasts to deliver broadband Internet, in some cases where it may not have been accessible before. The FCC is said to have completed testing on a second phase of white space devices, and should rule on their practicality "in the coming months."
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04/14, 4:05pm
CTIA On White Space
The Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association today lent support to a movement for new wireless standards by asking that the US government officially license white space frequencies. The organization, which typically represents carriers, is opposing attempts by the Google-backed White Space Coalition to develop and used devices with the deliberately blank spectrum on grounds that the technology could create problems for existing services. By leaving little to no gap between one frequency band and another, new companies using the service could create interference on existing services or cut out space that could be used for background portions of established, licensed networks, the CTIA claims.
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03/24, 1:10pm
Google mobile broadband
Google has submitted a new proposal to the FCC to develop so-called white-space frequencies in the US, reports say. The frequencies lie in the spectrum between channels 2 and 51 in the television range, but are used by neither satellite nor cable providers; Google, one of the members of the White Spaces Coalition, is proposing that the FCC authorize the use of the space for a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to provide ubiquitous wireless broadband access to all Americans," according to a letter by company lawyer Richard Whitt.
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01/18, 1:15pm
FCC 'white space' test #2
The FCC is attempting a second round of testing for so-called "white space" Internet devices, writes the Associated Press. The evaluation is set to begin on on January 24th, and will last three months, involving tests in both lab conditions and the real world. Results may be available by the end of June. The new technologies were developed by Adaptrum, Microsoft, Motorola and Philips; by contrast, the first round of testing examined the work of a coalition including Microsoft, Philips, Dell, HP, Google, Intel and EarthLink.
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