Is New York City an anti-white space town?

From Matthew Lasar in Ars Technica:

The New York City Council heard testimony about the dangers and prospects of unlicensed "white space" devices on Tuesday. Speakers pro and con discussed the question of whether allowing unlicensed applications to tap into unused TV channels would pose a threat to the wireless microphone systems that Broadway production companies depend on. As Ars readers know, this debate normally rages at the Federal Communications Commission's HQ in nearby Washington, D.C. But the Big Apple's government is considering a fairly mild resolution opposing the technology.

"Resolved," it reads, "That the Council of the City of New York urges the Federal Communications Commission to refrain from implementing proposed regulatory amendments that would allow portable devices to operate on the 'white space' radio spectrum without ensuring that such amendments will not negatively impact television broadcasters, performing artists, professional sports leagues, and all incumbent wireless microphone users."

This language is not far from the stated intentions of the FCC, as all of the Commissioners agree that, before the service is authorized on an unlicensed basis, strong precautions must be taken to make sure that it does not interfere with these systems. But the city's resolution is preceded by a tall pile of "whereas"-es that recount the litany of potential harms nay sayers warn will come with the devices.

If the FCC gives the green light to unlicensed use, "live theatre, the performing arts, film and television production companies will be unable to prevent constant interference with microphone systems, devastating those industries within the City of New York," one line concludes.

As Broadcasting and Cable reports, prominent opponents of unlicensed use testified before the Council, including David Donovan of the Association of Maximum Service Television, who warned of "devastating" interference to broadcast reception if these whitespace devices were unleashed. Wireless mics could be reduced to a state where they're "randomly functional," if they performed as poorly in actual use as they did during recent FCC tests, a Shure microphone official claimed.

Boosters of unlicensed broadband use focused on the technology's potential. Free Press Director Timothy Karr estimated that a fifth of the TV band in New York City will be "sitting idle" after the DTV transition and said that unlicensed apps "can and will meet acceptable and certifiable standards of non-interference."

A host of local supporters of unlicensed use testified as well. Dana Spiegel of NYC Wireless promised that white space devices could "amplify" the achievements of WiFi, "enabling larger scale internet broadcast, providing inexpensive or free access to whole neighborhoods from the central anchor of a park." Joshua Breitbart of the People's Production House regretted that an "otherwise forward-thinking group of legislators" had proposed a resolution "so filled with fear and confusion," but added that he wasn't surprised. "The only thing the major broadcasters and wireless microphone companies have on their side [on this issue] is fear."

And indeed, while New York City has no shortage of pro-white space activists, politically, it is starting to build a reputation as an anti-white space town. Case in point: The New York City Council item is sponsored by a hefty eleven members of the 51 person legislative body. The majority of these sponsors come from Brooklyn and Manhattan.

In fact, New York can boast of having the only member of the House of Representatives to publish an op-ed piece against unlicensed use in the New York Times. Jerrold Nadler, whose Eighth Congressional District covers very theatrical slices of Manhattan and Brooklyn, warned in February that, if unlicensed white spaces win the day, "a person walking down the block looking up an address in his new P.D.A. could easily cause a television set to go blank or silence the wireless microphones worn by performers in a Broadway musical."

On the other hand, there's also a letter by eight Congressional representatives sent to the FCC in August, which urges the agency to fast track unlicensed use. The list of signers not surprisingly includes Mike Honda (D-CA) of Silicon Valley. But it features a strong New York contingent as well, including Yvette Clark of the 11th District and Gregory Meeks of the 6th. The areas they represent, however, are a fairly long subway ride from Broadway.

FCC will keep testing white space devices

From Matthew Lasar in Lasar's Letter on the FCC:

Everybody had something to tell the Federal Communications Commission about so-called "white space" or "unlicensed" devices last week, including Cox Communications and the "Open Mobile Video Coalition."

The chatter culminated in Friday's decision by the FCC to initiate a new round of tests of the machines: cognitive receivers that can tap into unused television frequencies, or "white space," and use them for broadband purposes: video, streaming audio, extended LANs or "community mesh networks."

"The Commission is committed to working with all parties to continue the process of investigating the potential performance capabilities of TV white space devices in an open and transparent manner," the agency announced on October 5. "To that end, the Laboratory will be conducting additional laboratory and field testing of prototype devices."

The prototypes come from Microsoft and Phillips, big boosters of the technology and leaders of the "White Space Coalition," which also includes Google, Hewlett-Packard, and Intel.

Their FCC filings promise that "unlicensed devices operating in the TV band will offer longer transmission ranges using the same power, less risk of signal attenuation or harmful interference, and less power consumption at the same range than Wi-Fi."

TV broadcasters, on the other hand, have roundly denounced the technology, likening it to a potential epidemic spread by signal interference laden "germs . . . with the ability to attack the TV receivers in people's homes, apartments, hotel rooms, hospital rooms, dormitories, etc."

On September 21 Microsoft and Phillips submitted the results of their latest unlicensed device tests to the FCC. Their tests confirm that it is feasible for white space devices to pick up TV signals at a signal strength "that is far too weak for a television set to produce a broadcast television picture," their filing concluded.

But the broadcasters aren't letting up on this issue. The Open Mobile Video Coalition's October 2nd comment urges the FCC to test unlicensed devices for interference with mobile receivers [eg, cell phones], and "not to permit unlicensed devices to operate in the DTV spectrum unless there is fully effective protection against interference to the mobile broadcast service from mobile devices."

The filing is signed by reps from Tribune, Cox Television, Telemundo, Media General, Gannett, and Fox, among other broadcasters.

Independent of this group, Cox submitted several statements to the FCC on the same day, arguing that the "state of these cognitive radio technologies - as demonstrated by the [FCC's] laboratory tests - is too immature to ensure protection of broadcast and cable services."