Spectrum Bridge, the company that pioneered the use of a database to free up unused white spaces spectrum, has completed a field trial of the database and has requested that the FCC certify the solution.
“The 45-day trial started on September 19 and was successfully completed on November 2nd,” wrote Andrew Pielak, communications coordinator for Spectrum Bridge, in a blog post.
The FCC last year adopted an order to release unused television spectrum, known as “TV white spaces,” for unlicensed use based on using a database administrator to automatically assign spectrum to users via an Internet connection. The move was aimed at freeing up spectrum for new broadband applications, including Super Wi-Fi, a more powerful version of today’s Wi-Fi offerings. The order was adopted after Spectrum Bridge conducted successful trials that used a database to control spectrum for smart city, smart grid and health care applications.
The latest trial, instigated by the FCC, was to allow the public to access and test the white spaces solution to ensure that it correctly identified channels available for unlicensed TV band devices, properly registered those facilities entitled to protection, and provided protection to “authorized services and registered facilities as specified in the rules.”
According to a report that Spectrum Bridge filed with the FCC Monday, the test solution was exercised by more than 1,700 unique visitors, including many outside the USA. During the trial, Spectrum Bridge used a third-party tool to track comments and concerns related to the trial, yielding a total of 65 unique tickets. “None of the tickets was deemed to be of a critical nature,” wrote Spectrum Bridge Chief Technology Officer Peter Stanforth in the report sent to the FCC.
The FCC’s certification of the database solution would pave the way to “a live solution for wireless users in the very near future,” wrote Pielak in his blog post.
“We believe that this technology has the potential to revolutionize the wireless industry as it can be implemented in additional spectrum bands to help alleviate the spectrum scarcity issues currently facing the wireless industry,” said Pielak.
Spectrum Bridge is one of ten white space database administrators nationwide authorized by the FCC to take on the task of monitoring, tracking and ensuring compliance of white space transmissions and network operators.
Congratulations to Spectrum Bridge for moving this technology forward with a successful public trial of its database! The company has worked hard to bring TV white space technology to fruition for rural broadband.