White Spaces Devices
Various proposals, including IEEE 802.11af, IEEE 802.22 and those from the White Spaces Coalition, have advocated using white spaces left by the termination of analog TV to provide wireless broadband Internet access. A device intended to use these available channels is a "white-spaces device" (WSD). Such devices are designed to detect the presence of existing but unused areas of airwaves, such as those reserved for analog television, and utilize these unused airwaves to transmit signals for Internet connectivity. Such technology is predicted to improve the availability of broadband Internet and Wi-Fi in rural areas.
Early ideas proposed including GPS receivers and programming each WSD with a database of all TV stations in an area, however this would not have avoided other non-stationary or unlicensed users in the area, or any stations licensed or altered after the device was made. However, these efforts may impact wireless microphones, medical telemetry, and other technologies that have historically relied on these open frequencies.
Read more about this topic: White Spaces (radio)
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