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Jan. 18, 2008

The FCC announces plans to start a second round of testing wireless devices running on the so-called white spaces between digital TV channels.

The FCC says testing will begin next Thursday and will include wireless devices submitted by Microsoft, Motorola and Phillips.

The commission said testing will be "open and transparent," and that devices will be tested in both labs and the real world.

The FCC expects testing to take about three months after which it will issue a report.

The commission ran similar tests last year, and results showed interference with DTV reception, but Microsoft, also part of the original testing, said one of its prototype devices was faulty, so the FCC has agreed to retest.

A coalition of high-tech companies including Dell, Google, Intel, Microsoft, Philips, and others, believes it is possible to transmit broadband Internet service over the unlicensed and unused TV spectrum between channels, saying it could make Internet service more accessible and affordable.

But broadcasters have lobbied hard against the idea, saying that Internet service might still interfere with DTV signals.

The coalition said that if this round of testing is successful and the FCC approves the wireless devices, commercial devices should go on sale after the digital TV transition in February 2009.

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Source: The Federal Communications Commission

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