A group of local organizations, rural advocates, and national companies like Microsoft, the App Association and the National Rural Education Association formed a coalition January 2, dedicated to broadband deployment in rural America. They favor using Microsoft’s TV white spaces technology, coupled with wireless, LTE fixed wireless and satellite coverage. Calling themselves Connect Americans Now (CAN), the members’ goal is to bring affordable broadband to rural areas by 2022.
“All Americans – regardless of where they live – deserve access to high-speed internet,” said CAN Executive Director Richard Cullen. “Without a broadband connection, millions of students struggle to keep up with their assignments, Americans in rural areas are unable to fully utilize telemedicine, farmers are denied the promise of precision agriculture and businesses are unable to tap into the world of online commerce.”
TV white spaces, the unused spectrum between television channels, are below the 700 MHz frequency range. The group plans an advocacy campaign in Washington, D.C. to convince the FCC and Congress to allow their use for rural broadband deployment. CAN states on its website: “Microsoft Wireless signals in this range can travel over hills and through buildings and trees and therefore are great for last mile broadband access in rural areas.”
NAB says it’s too soon for the FCC to allow this use of the low-band spectrum, noting that television channels are being squeezed into a smaller spectrum band due to the channel repack and there may not be enough to go around. The National Translators Association also told the FCC the agency should at least wait to consider the concept until after the repack is completed, Inside Towers reported.
NTA also took issue with how Microsoft describes the band, noting that while the space between TV channels is unlicensed, it is not unoccupied, as Microsoft claims. NTA counts 3,776 licensed UHF and VHF translator stations, and 1,968 licensed UHF and VHF low-power TV stations in that spectrum. Other licensees, like additional low-power TV stations and TV translators left out of the spectrum auction, are eager to use this spectrum as well.
January 4, 2018
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