Google and FCC Like White Space

The US is getting close to catching up with access-rich always-on Internet, as is available in several Asian countries.

This has become a possibility after the Federal Communication Commission decided to open the unused white-space portions of the electromagnetic spectrum between TV channels for a national broadband Wi-Fi system. Google and other technology companies have urged the FCC to open the system to unlicensed devices that passed FCC approval.

The extensive reach of the low-frequency TV signals will mean cheaper infrastructure capable of reaching the rural parts of the US.

Some of the devices that will be able to use the freed spectrum would be of the ’smart appliances’ that Microsoft has been working on developing for years, such as refrigerators connected to the Internet. When equipped with RFID and other technologies such as weight-sensing shelves, such fridges could be able to keep an inventory of groceries and either produce a paper shopping list or order them directly from a grocery store to be delivered.

Other devices would utilize the always-on aspect of the technology, such as real-time news displayed as an electronic newspaper on a screen, or an Internet radio constantly streaming music.