Since the FCC has cleared the unlicenced use of spectrum white space in between television frequencies, Google, one of the initiative’s forerunners, has taken the charge of organizing and databasing this usage, so wireless devices taking advantage of 700 MHz white space aren’t stepping on the toes of TV and wireless mic companies who have opposed its usage due to fear of interfering with their own products. HP, Dell, Microsoft, Motorola, and others are on board to found the White Spaces Database Group, which will administrate the geographic database. Devices will need to ping this database in order to figure out whether or not white space is already claimed in a given area, and thus unavailable for use before transmitting. Google hopes that by facilitating this, they’ll be able to get white-space-using handsets into the world sooner than later, hopefully leading to better coverage and fewer dropped calls.
[via Google]