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Most Recent PostsGiving Wireless Broadband a Boost
Yesterday, the FCC took a big step toward boosting the power of wireless broadband. Amy Schatz at the Wall Street Journal reports:
The Federal Communications Commission Thursday approved a plan to open vacant TV channels for wireless broadband, a win for high-technology companies that have long sought to use the airwaves for new services.
The FCC’s board unanimously reaffirmed a 2008 decision to open up the broadcast airwaves and clarified some technical details about how companies will be able to use them. Google Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Dell Inc. are among the companies that have pushed the FCC to open up the TV airwaves, and they have already been testing systems for using them.
FCC Chairman Julius Gena chowski said the move was important and would offer “unique opportunities for innovators and entrepreneurs.”
At Bloomberg, Todd Shields breaks down what this move could mean for the economy:
White-space applications may generate $3.9 billion to $7.3 billion in economic value each year, according to a September 2009 study funded by Microsoft and written by Richard Thanki, a London-based analyst with Perspective Associates.
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