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This time, it wants to open up the unlicensed parts of the TV broadcast spectrum, the so-called white space, for wireless broadband Internet access.“The data speeds are comparable with the 700 MHz spectrum, so you could have alternative ISPs and wireless cell carriers and data access which could be provided at lower cost than cable Internet or from current wireless carriers, and if you have nationwide service with comparable quality, they would be competitive with wireless carriers and existing ISPs,” Greg Sterling, founding principal of Sterling Market Research, told TechNewsWorld.
In the Name of the People
Google’s take on this issue, as it was when it forced the FCC to open up access to the C block of the 700 MHz wireless spectrum, is that this is good for all Americans.
In other words, Google sees itself as a white knight propounding Web access ubiquity, though its own interests certainly factor into the equation.
In a March 21 letter to the FCC, Google suggested that its forthcoming Android phone could be used with the white spaces to “provide uniquely low-cost mobile broadband coverage for all Americans,” and that it is “willing to provide, at no cost to third parties,” the technical support they would need to create applications or content for consumers to download from the white spaces — in other words, the Android SDK, which Google released recently.
Raising Hackles
These Android devices would not have to be licensed by the FCC, and that has led to strong opposition to Google’s idea.
That National Association of Broadcasters 
(NAB), a trade association that advocates on behalf of more than 8,300 free, local radio and television stations and broadcast networks, is leading the charge against Google.
“We oppose quite strongly the notion of these unlicensed portable devices that we believe would cause severe interference to the digital TV viewing experience,” NAB Executive VP of Media Relations Dennis Wharton told TechNewsWorld. “They’re looking to get a free ride from the FCC on very valuable spectrum.”
The NAB would prefer that the airwaves be auctioned off so that the government “would get revenue from the winning bidder and this would go to pay the national debt,” Wharton said.
To date, 70 lawmakers have expressed concern over the use of unlicensed personal-portable devices in the broadcast spectrum. They are listed on NAB’s Website.
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