700 Mhz spectrum uncertainties

You likely know by now that the 700 MHz band that the FCC is planning to auction off in the next year is part of the spectrum that will be freed-up when U.S. television goes fully digital in 2009. What you might not have heard is that television isn't abandoning all the spectrum around that slice: over-the-air television broadcasts will still need lots of bandwidth around 700 MHz. Whatever happens in the auction, it will be absolutely critical that the devices and applications not interfere with television signals. The FCC will enforce this requirement, and the National Association of Broadcasters will work hard to make sure that the FCC is strict in its enforcement. You can expect to see lots of press releases during the next few months as different parties say either that the spectrum can't be used at all or that the problems are trivial and not worth worrying about. The truth lies, of course, somewhere in the middle.

The issues aren't trivial, but the methods to avoid problems exist and are in the trial stages. The biggest problem isn't really technology, but timing: most of the parties involved would like to be able to roll out new wireless services the day after the digital television switch-over. That means they have just about a year to get the problems sorted out in order to make the deadline. It's a tough challenge, but I think they can do it--let's just hope that the licensing and political issues are solved as easily as the technology problems. -Curtis