TV White Space and Spectrum Matters

Wireless spectrum, although invisible to the naked eyes, is a huge asset to any country. Spectrum regulators all over the world contributed huge income to the nation through spectrum auctions. For example, Germany raised over EUR 50 billion through their 3G auctions back in 2000. The auctioned spectrum typically last for a certain period stipulated by the respective regulator, e.g., 20 years, after which the regulator has the right to retrieve the spectrum for other purposes. To put in perspective, EUR 50 billion over 20 years is equivalent to a whopping EUR 6.85 million per day ! Side note: 3G licenses for most countries will expire in early 2020’s. On the other hand, regulators also allocate unlicensed spectrum to serve different needs, e.g., cordless phone in your home or Wi-Fi in your office. These wireless systems need to be setup quickly and easily by end users and are best to avoid lengthy licensing process. In other words, the end users do not need to get a spectru

In my last blog on " What is TV White Space? Myth and Truth Explained ", I posted a question: " For TV bands / channels totally freed up (i.e., no primary user) after digital switchover, do / can they be considered as TVWS or unlicensed spectrum or they should be licensed out to individual organizations? Which part of the figure above should they belong to? Blue, green or yellow? " Just to recap, Blue is licensed spectrum, Yellow is unlicensed spectrum and Green is in between which refers to White Space. Theoretically, for spectrum that is totally free (unoccupied), it falls in neither of the above or it could be either of them. Based on cost-benefit analysis of different countries, the respective administration may decide to auction off the spectrum, craft them out as unlicensed spectrum or assign them as white space. Let me share why assigning them as white space is the best option if there are opposing views from different stakeholders or the r

“ TV White Spaces (TVWS) are wireless spectrums in the TV bands that are not being fully utilized by licensed services, such as TV broadcasting, and are made available for other users on secondary basis provided the secondary users do not interfere with the licensed services. ” I’ll elaborate more below. First, let’s start with many questions people typically ask: ·          Is it an unlicensed spectrum? – not quite ·          Is it spectrum left over after analog to digital TV switchover? – not quite ·          Is it a technology making use of broadcasting for communication? – no ·          Is it allocated to somebody and only they could offer TVWS services? – no During my 11-year involvement in TVWS developments, I encountered many people trying to define TVWS differently. Even some so-called TVWS experts misunderstood the whole concept of TVWS. In this article, I attempt to explain the concept of TVWS in a layman manner and clarify some doubts. It is hope