To print: Click here or Select File and then Print from your browser's menu

This story was printed from silicon.com, located at http://www.silicon.com/

Story URL: http://networks.silicon.com/mobile/0,39024665,39170453,00.htm

Google pledges 'wi-fi on steroids'
And calls on FCC to release white spaces…

By Anne Broache

Published: Tuesday 25 March 2008

Google has said it plans to have US consumers from Manhattan to rural North Dakota surfing the web on handheld gadgets at gigabits-per-second speeds by 2009.

The company, joined by other heavyweights like Microsoft and Dell, has long been lobbying for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to free up unused broadcast TV channels known as "white spaces" for unlicensed use by personal devices. That portion of the TV band is highly prized because it can propagate long distances and through obstacles.

Wireless from A to Z

Click on the links below to find out more…

A is for Antivirus
B is for Bluetooth
C is for The Cloud
D is for dotMobi
E is for Email
F is for FMC
G is for GPS
H is for HSDPA
I is for i-mode
J is for Japan Air
K is for Korea
L is for LBS
M is for M2M
N is for NFC
O is for Operating systems
P is for Pubs
Q is for QoS
R is for Roaming
S is for Satellite
T is for TV
U is for UMTS
V is for Virgin
W is for WiMax
X is for XDA
Y is for Yucca
Z is for Zigbee

It also possesses the bandwidth to support vastly faster data rates than today's standard internet service offerings - "Wi-fi on steroids" or "wi-fi 2.0", as Richard Whitt, Google's telecommunications counsel, put it in a conference call yesterday morning.

In a renewed effort to get the FCC on board with the idea, Google filed a six-page letter late last week that attempts to erase lingering concerns from TV broadcasters and microphone manufacturers about harmful interference caused by the entry of new devices.

Whitt said: "We're doing this because we want everybody to be satisfied with this process. We think it's the right time to put these ideas in the record and see where they go."

Google isn't interested in becoming a wireless service provider or building a network of its own, Whitt said. It does, however, envision the white spaces as a "unique opportunity to provide ubiquitous wireless access for all Americans" and a prime spot for use of mobile handsets running its open-source Android platform. Google hopes to start rolling out Android devices, which are being developed in conjunction with a 34-company consortium, by summer or autumn this year, Whitt said.

Even if the FCC signs off, the offerings wouldn't be immediate. The spectrum won't be ready for use until at least February 2009, when over-the-air broadcasters are required to vacate that band as part of the congressionally mandated shift to all-digital television.

The FCC also isn't expected to issue any rules for use of the spectrum for another several months, Whitt said. Agency engineers are still testing early-stage devices submitted by Microsoft and Phillips for interference issues.

Whitt said, even if the regulators ultimately approve use of the white spaces, "no product will come to market unless the FCC can verify that the device does not interfere with TV or wireless microphone signals."

Representatives from the National Association of Broadcasters and wireless microphone manufacturers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Google's renewed white-spaces push comes just days after the FCC ended an auction of the remaining portion of the 700MHz broadcast TV spectrum that's being vacated for the digital switch next year. The company had been active in the event, lobbying beforehand for "open-access" conditions allowing consumers to attach whatever devices or run whatever applications they please.

The search giant had committed to bidding $4.6bn for the "open-access" spectrum block, but last week, the FCC announced it was Verizon Wireless, not Google, that had won those licences.