The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has approved the use of the radio-electric unlicensed space, as known as ‘white space ‘, so the companies can offer faster and low-cost broadband services in the country.
During months of negotiations, the main technological companies tried to convince the FCC it was necessary to allow the use of this spectrum. Now, they have achieved this, although some the largest television companies like ABC, NBC or Fox, feared that it can interfere with their signals.
The commission has indicated that enough testing have been done to guarantee there won’t be interferences with the current signals. This will facilitate new Internet services with a very broad wireless network coming from companies like Google, HP and Microsoft. One of the arguments of the supporters is the promise the use of this radio-electric spectrum could accelerate the broadband availability in rural and less populated areas of USA, where the ADSL connection has not arrived yet.
“This is a clear victory for Internet users and anyone who wants good wireless communications”, the Google co-founder Larry Page wrote on the official Google blog. “I’ve always thought that there are a lot of really incredible things that engineers and entrepreneurs can do with this spectrum. We will soon have Wi-Fi on steroids,” Page added.
