WhiteSpace Alliance Urges Regulators To Adopt Spectrum Sharing
CHELMSFORD, Mass. (PRWEB) August 28, 2018 -- The WhiteSpace Alliance (WSA®), a global industry organization enabling sharing of underutilized spectrum, is urging telecommunications regulators to adopt bi-directional and multi-directional spectrum sharing to expand global access to electronic services.
Consumers and industry are increasing consumption of wireless data. Expanding access to spectrum within commercially viable regulatory frameworks is vital to support data growth, boost capacity in urban areas, and enable delivery of innovative services to currently underserved populations. WSA has made several filings with various regulators to that effect.
New technologies to identify, monitor and control spectrum have evolved to sustain efficient spectrum sharing. Methodologies include cognitive and software defined radios, spectrum sensing and beaconing techniques, as well as spectrum databases and spectrum access systems (SAS). In combination, these approaches can ensure protection from interference for both incumbent and new users. Sharing spectrum allows commercial and government users to coexist without requiring expensive relocation of users to new, dedicated frequency bands, and enables all users to take advantage of technical advances in spectrum sharing.
“WSA is engaged in commercializing many of these technologies,” said Dr. Apurva N. Mody, Chairman of WhiteSpace Alliance. “Allowing devices to share spectrum is not only feasible, it has become the new reality.”
Television band whitespace is a prime example of how expanded access to spectrum can be used to deliver critical communication services. Over the last decade, the global shift from analogue to digital television broadcasting has released significant amounts of formerly unavailable radio frequency spectrum. This newly available spectrum can now be used for other applications such as mobile communications. Whitespace technology uses idle TV band spectrum (whitespace) to deliver fixed wireless broadband services at distances up to 30 km. Intelligent spectrum management ensures these signals do not interfere with normal TV broadcasts. The technology can be used in environments where wired infrastructure is too costly to deploy, or vegetation makes traditional line-of-sight wireless solutions unreliable. TV white space solutions can support a broad range of commercial, education and government applications, and are ideally suited to delivering services to underserved populations in rural and remote areas.
Market conditions have also converged to make TV whitespace an increasingly attractive option for providing widespread broadband services. International technical standards for efficient spectrum sharing, such as IEEE 802.22 Wi-FAR® for regional area networks, are well established. IEEE 802.22 Wi-FAR® devices are being deployed in multiple geographies, demonstrating viability of the technology in a variety of environments. To date, formal regulatory approvals have been granted in several countries including United States, United Kingdom, Singapore, Colombia, Philippines and South Africa, and commercial-grade TV whitespace products are increasingly available.
“There is no longer a need to view traditional broadcast spectrum as a finite, static resource,” said Dr. Mody. "Use of shared spectrum methodologies such as TV whitespace can dramatically accelerate efficient delivery of critical services. What’s needed now is widespread adoption of telecom regulations that foster greater network access and innovation.”
WhiteSpace Alliance, developer of Wi-FAR® and WSAConnect® interoperability specifications, has a following of more than 200 major commercial, academic, government and regulatory organizations around the world. WSA member organizations benefit from access to technical specifications that decrease development costs; expanded access to global markets, regulators and government agencies; and ongoing marketing support at no additional cost. Consumers benefit from a multi-vendor, interoperable ecosystem that brings down the overall cost of broadband access. For more information on WhiteSpace Alliance, please visit http://www.WhiteSpaceAlliance.org
About WhiteSpace Alliance
The mission of the Whitespace Alliance (http://www.whitespacealliance.org/) is to promote the development, deployment and use of standards-based products and services as a means of providing broadband capabilities via WhiteSpace spectrum. By promoting the use of standards, the Alliance will enable companies to provide broadband connectivity at reasonable cost. The WSA will also act as an enabler of the emerging white spaces ecosystem by helping to put in place interoperability, conformance, and compliance testing to make sure that our member stakeholders get the needed information & collaborations to succeed both in the market place and with regulatory requirements. Interoperability specifications will allow multiple vendors to enter the market and help to reduce the costs for the consumers. WhiteSpace Alliance promotes the use of IEEE, 3GPP and IETF Standards for use in the WhiteSpaces.
WSA, Wi-FAR and WSAConnect are registered trademarks of the WhiteSpace Alliance.
Bill Mello, WhiteSpace Alliance, http://www.whitespacealliance.org, +1 +1 978.877.0051, [email protected]
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