Tag Archives: WhiteSpaces

Distro Issue 103: Inside South Africa’s TV white spaces experiment

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Distro Issue 103 Inside South Africa's TV white spaces experiment

In Africa, only 15.6 percent of residents have an internet connection and that figure clocks in below half of the global average. Google, Carlson Wireless and several other outfits are teaming up to employ Cape Town's unused TV frequencies, or white spaces, in order to bring high-speed connectivity to the masses. Darren Murph made the trek to South Africa get a behind-the-scenes look at the project and his account nabs top billing in this week's issue of our tablet mag. Eyes-On ogles Organic Transit's ELF; Weekly Stat tallies up the heroes of YouTube; and Modem World pleads the Hyperloop's case. Grab a copy from the source links below if your slate of choice hasn't already alerted you to do so and get comfy for another large dose of tech e-reading.

Distro Issue 103 PDF
Distro in the iTunes App Store
Distro in the Google Play Store
Distro in the Windows Store
Distro APK (for sideloading)
Like Distro on Facebook
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Source: iTunes, Google Play, Windows Store

TV white spaces forum paves the way for wireless broadband across Africa

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White spaces forum paves the way for formal wireless broadband across Africa

I've traveled to remote islands in the South Pacific where wireless internet is proving to be the go-to technology for broadband, and increasingly, it's looking as if tether-less connections will be what brings millions upon millions of Africans online. Google's own Eric Schmidt has confessed as recently as March that the most exciting part of the web's future isn't any one technology or product, but the "next five billion people looking to get connected." So, it figures that Google was a major constituent at the recent TV White Spaces & Dynamic Spectrum Africa Forum in Dakar, Senegal. It -- along with 15 African nations, Microsoft, the Association for Progressive Communications, Afrinic and others -- recently convened in order to discuss the opportunities that are currently facing the continent. Indeed, the fact that there is over 90MHz available in Dakar alone to be used for wireless broadband deployment puts Africa in a unique spot -- one of the most disconnected regions of our planet could become a pioneer in bringing the next wave of humans online.

ICASA, the South African regulator, will reportedly use various trial outcomes to evaluate possible rules for use of the TV white spaces. And, as Steve Song of Village Telco points out, it's pretty astounding to have Microsoft and Google working in some fashion towards a similar goal. As it stands, a lot has to happen -- final standards have to be agreed upon, equipment makers have to decide that it's a profitable enterprise, and individual nations have to place a high priority on getting their populations connected. That said, the amount of momentum that's already happening is supremely compelling, and I'm hoping to report back in the coming months on how a smattering of these very trials are impacting communities across Africa right now. Stay tuned!

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Source: Official Google.org Blog, Many Possibilities

Broadband internet arrives in California’s Gold Country through white spaces deployment

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Broadband internet arrives in California's Gold Country through white spaces deployment

While select outfits race to make satellite broadband an acceptable solution for those who need ping times south of three digits, there's another game in town looking to quietly revolutionize rural access. As LTE slowly rolls out to major metropolitan areas in the United States, vacated spectrum is allowing companies like Carlson Wireless to offer up another option. TV white spaces -- unused TV channels freed up after the analog-to-digital transition of 2009 -- have long since been eyed as the answer for distributing high-speed internet to areas that aren't economical to reach via wireline, or are otherwise shunned by conventional wireless operators.

Armed with an FCC-granted Special Temporary Authority to validate the efficacy of the product in real-world scenarios, Carlson has partnered with Cal.net in order to bring internet to sections of California's Gold Country; the project comprises multiple transmission sites delivering broadband to several hundred heretofore un-serviceable subscribers in El Dorado County. There's no word on pricing, but we're sure hoping it's a runaway hit -- we can think of plenty of gorgeous locales in this country that could stand a pinch of internet. (Yellowstone National Park, we're looking at you.)

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Source: Carlson Wireless, Cal.net

AIR.U to bring Super WiFi to small college towns, Microsoft and Google to be part of the process

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AIRU to bring Super WiFi to small college towns, Microsoft and Google to be part of the process

Looks like town and gown communities will be among the first to experience "super WiFi," the high-speed broadband made possible, in part, by TV. After getting the FCC nod back in the fall of 2010, the white spaces harboring these unused television frequencies were opened up, paving the way for a host of new wireless broadband services. Now, thanks to AIR.U -- a consortium of over 500 higher learning institutions and tech industry partners like Google and Microsoft -- underserved small college towns will soon see deployments of these high speed networks as early as Q1 2013. Not only will the group's efforts help usher in a low-cost wireless solution, but it'll also tackle a major geographic hurdle: building and terrain penetration. Seems these in-development networks run on a much lower frequency than traditional WiFi and, thus, have greater ease broaching thick walls and covering larger expanses. A pilot effort is underway, although exact details as to the where and when have yet to be revealed. Check out the official presser after the break for the full-on rundown.

Continue reading AIR.U to bring Super WiFi to small college towns, Microsoft and Google to be part of the process

AIR.U to bring Super WiFi to small college towns, Microsoft and Google to be part of the process originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Jun 2012 02:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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