3 edits | Unlicensed spectrum in this band could bring chaos »www.freepress.net/spectrum/
Instead of striking such a short-sighted deal, Congress could have opened up the airwaves as "unlicensed spectrum" that everyone would be free to access for high-speed, wireless broadband service. But they can still make use of the unused portions of the broadcast bands called "white spaces," reallocating it to unlicensed use
The spectrum being vacated or underutilized by the broadcasters, however, is prime real estate — the Malibu of the airwaves.
Signals at these lower frequencies travel farther at lower powers and can go through obstacles like walls, trees and mountains. That means lower infrastructure costs for broadband providers. And thereby creates a tremendous potential for unlicensed users to step all over each other.
Wifi interference is already bad enough at low power and the inability to penetrate obstacles easily. Can you imagine the mess if these new frequencies are opened to unlicensed use.
If these groups want small companies to be able to get a piece of the spectrum in this band, put that in the pending bills before Congress. Opening the band for unlicensed use is not the way to spread wireless broadband.
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RadioDoc58ef2c0Premium,ExMod 2000-03
join:2000-05-11
1 edit | The first person who can get anything at 700 MHz and above to go through a mountain will be a billionaire. And will have had to repeal a couple of natural laws.
Who are these people? If they don't have even a marginal grasp on the physics of it how the hell are they qualified to have any opinion on this?
I also love the "white space" frenzy. They're ripping at it like a bunch of hyenas after a rabbit. Once the TV reallocation is complete those will be mostly in rural areas which they could be serving right now with existing tech if they truly were concerned with serving rural areas. They aren't.
added: Got a chance to read through some of their 'reports'. Much of their argument for urban areas is based on use of frequencies directly adjacent to two full power stations, one on each side. That's a very naive assumption, considering that the amount of interference from those two would certainly wipe out any reliable reception for a Part 15 device unless it was dead center between them. WiFi Channel 6 anyone? 
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openbox9
join:2004-01-26
Alexandria, VA
kudos:2 | reply to fAcEtIOUs
I don't know, WISPs seem to be popping up all over the place using 2.4 GHz without to many problems. In PtP and PtMP scenarios, you won't have nearly the amount of interference that you would have with people throwing up omni antennas everywhere like traditional WiFi environments. Should the spectrum be unlicensed? That's debatable. Should it however be easily available for businesses desiring to offer service and not be gobbled up by large incumbents that desire to only strengthen their spectrum arsenal without any real plans to employ the spectrum? I believe so. |
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PDXPLT
join:2003-12-04
Banks, OR
1 edit | reply to fAcEtIOUs
Hell hath frozen over ... Hell hath frozen over ...
said by fAcEtIOUs:And thereby creates a tremendous potential for unlicensed users to step all over each other... Opening the band for unlicensed use is not the way to spread wireless broadband. Wow, TCH is advocating more government regulation!? Next thing you know, he'll want government permits issued for different categories of stores, so that competitors "don't step on each other". Heaven forbid that Lowes should open a store right next to Home Depot! -- wait a minute, that seems to be Lowes' exact business strategy.
It's not at all clear to me that unlicensed use leads to a "tragedy of the commons" anarchy. One could equally argue that what develops instead is a sort of self-regulating Nash equilibrium between competing users.
What the FCC is doing in fact is hedging their bets with two appraches (and this article seems to confuse the two). In the 700-800 MHz portion, they are auctioning off exclusive licenses. In unused TV channels below 700 MHz, they're moving toward unlicensed use.
I predict the 700-800 MHz licensed band will be used for more $80/month mobile broadband services. The sub-700 MHz unlicensed white space will be used by WISP's, many of them smaller outfits, to more economically serve terrain- and foliage-challenged regions, where 2.4 GHz is not practical today. |
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openbox9
join:2004-01-26
Alexandria, VA
kudos:2 | said by PDXPLT:Wow, TCH is advocating more government regulation!? Next thing you know, he'll want government permits issued for different categories of stores, so that competitors "don't step on each other". There's a difference. Physical stores are prevented from "stepping" on each other because they literally require physical space. You can't build a Lowes on top of a Home Depot store. Yes they can be next to each other and compete, which is great btw. There is no "physical separation" in unlicensed spectrum, therefore allowing providers to step all over each other. Two unlicensed transceivers right next to each other has potential to cause problems. |
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RadioDoc58ef2c0Premium,ExMod 2000-03
join:2000-05-11
1 edit | Precisely. It's no different than having two competing radio or TV stations on adjacent channels. That works fine. Putting them both on the same frequency obviously doesn't.
Self-regulation of RF spectrum users has never worked. Ever.
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Toolmaster of La Grange. |
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Re: Unlicensed spectrum in this band could bring chaos Absolutely right, Doc. This spectrum will be bought up, then sold, and sold again, until a lot of people make money for nothing and the telcos own the spectrum.
Nah, I ain't cynical. Much. |
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PDXPLT
join:2003-12-04
Banks, OR
1 edit | reply to RadioDoc
Re: Hell hath frozen over ... said by RadioDoc:Self-regulation of RF spectrum users has never worked. Ever. I beg to differ. There are plenty of examples:
-- There are 600,000+ Amateur radio operators in the U.S.; while they are licensed to operate in certain bands, within those bands they are entirely self-regulated; e.g., no licensee is given exclusive use of the spectrum. They seem to manage themselves quite well.
-- FRS, CB, and other unlicensed (or non-exclusive licensed) 2-way radio services similarly function the way these services were intended.
-- Wi-Fi-based WISP's and hotspots share spectrum on a non-exclusive basis. In urban areas especially, you hear about conflicts between coffee shops, etc. The parties usually manage to find a way to compromise.
Really, this issue of sharing use of spectrum is not fundamentally different than any other application of the classic "commons" problem. It was axiomatic in the field of economics (game theory) that these situations would inevitably lead to anarchy, until Nash proved that equilibrium conditions can exist.
This is a hot research topic in university EE dept's (for example "The Multiuser Non-cooperative Cognitive Radio Networks Viewed as a Game-theoretic Problem" in »bul.ece.ubc.ca/Simon_Haykin_Cogn···2007.pdf.)
Self-regulation was much more difficult, if not impossible, with the state of technology back in the 1930's, when the FCC was first created by the Communications Act, and what the FCC now refers to as the "Command and Control" exclusive-use licensing schemes were enacted. With connitive sensing and flexibily radio technology, they are going to be more and more moving to more modern, flexible spectrum approaches.
Go to the FCC web site, and read the Spectrum Policy Task Force Report, to see where things are headed. |
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RadioDoc58ef2c0Premium,ExMod 2000-03
join:2000-05-11 | Hams are licensed and tend to respect it. Not a good example for you.
CB is a mess. FRS has very limited range.
Consumer WiFi has such limited range that it's not much of an issue unless you're in an apartment building. In that case it's a free-for-all. WISPs tend to use highly directional antennas. People attempt to modify equipment and add amplifiers to get past the interference. This is not 'equilibrium' unless you think barely functional systems are a good thing.
You give the mass market anything that can transmit more than a few hundred feet and you've got RF anarchy.
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Toolmaster of La Grange. |
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