The FCC has granted Google permission to enter a public trial with the commission to test out and continue the process of approving its white space spectrum database. The database is designed to record when and where unlicensed spectrum — particularly TV white spaces, which are unused tracts that lie in the over-the-air TV spectrum band — in order to open them up for commercial use. The purpose of the system is to avoid interference while making more spectrum available for public use, especially for last-mile wireless broadband applications. Google’s 45-day trial with the FCC, which ends on April 17th, will be the next step towards getting the database certified, with the search company fielding feedback from broadcasters, spectrum holders, and others involved in the industry. Google’s database, when it goes live, won’t be the first: that milestone was accomplished in 2011, with the first white space network in the US going live in Wilmington, North Carolina on January 26th of last year.
Google enters FCC trial to test white space database designed to promote spectrum sharing
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