Google to monitor unused white space across the US, take us one step closer to spectrum sharing

Google to monitor unused white space across the US, take us one step closer to spectrum sharing

One of the biggest hold-ups in the global deployment of LTE and long-range WiFiis a lack of available spectrum. Even when a particular frequency is free and usable for mobile broadband, it’s often officially reserved for some other purpose. Google’s charitable wing, Google.org, has long claimed that as much as 6 MHz ofwhite space kept aside for TV channels in the US is actually untapped, and now it’s going to get a chance to prove the point. The FCC has just granted it a 45-day window in which to run a trial public database (linked below) to keep track of exactly which bits of spectrum are free in which parts of the country.