White space “Super Wi-Fi” begins UK trial

White noise (white space wi-fi)

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One of the largest tests of white space Wi-Fi begins today in Cambridge, England. The trial is being conducted by Microsoft and backed by a consortium of ISPs and tech companies including Nokia, BSkyB, BBC, and BT, with the actual network hardware being provided by Neul.

White space Wi-Fi, in all seriousness, is a killer application; it’s so awesome that Microsoft is even calling it “super Wi-Fi” and “Wi-Fi on steroids.” In essence, white space Wi-Fi takes the gaps between the frequencies that are usually used for analog TV signals, and turns them into a spectrum that can be used for long-range wireless networking. Here’s the kicker, though: unlike every other long-range transmission, ISPs can use white space without incredibly costly spectrum licenses. If white space Wi-Fi gets the go-ahead — which it should do — ISPs will then have a very cheap and easy way to provide faster internet connections to those outside the range of cable and DSL.

The key behind white space transmissions is the detection of which frequencies are available for use. Because TV channels are licensed, it’s easy enough to maintain a database of locations and their available white spaces. It’s also possible for hardware to “sniff” the air and pick an unused frequency band. Today’s trial in Cambridge is expected to deliver speeds of 16Mbps over 10 kilometers (6 miles) — but more importantly, the test is explicitly designed to monitor whether the consortium’s implementation of white space Wi-Fi interferes with TV signals. If no significant interference is observed, the British communications regulator Ofcom will likely approve white space Wi-Fi across the rest of the UK.

Beyond the fact that white space is unlicensed, it is also very exciting because it uses low frequencies in the VHF and UHF range between 100MHz and 800MHz which can travel great distances and penetrate walls. For the sake of comparison, 4G/WiMax is currently capable of faster speeds and greater distances, but it costs a huge amount to roll out, requires line of sight, and operates in the less-flexible and costly-to-license gigahertz frequency band. There’s also a ton of white space available: According to Neul, a member of the consortium, there is no less than 150MHz of white space available in the UK frequency spectrum. By comparison, mobile operators like Vodafone, AT&T, and Verizon generally have just 30MHz to play with.

Read more about Neul and the Cambridge white space trial

[Image credit: John Steven]

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  • You Tube

    Quality article. 

    This news perfectly addresses something I’ve wondered for a while. You tune in your Freeview receiver, and it goes through a very wide range of frequencies, choosing just six. So what were the rest of those going to be used for? I thought it might be something like this, and now we know. 

    How is there an upstream path? Is it separate (i.e. phone line) as with satellite internet? 

    I like how these are much less jangly frequencies to humans. People didn’t used to complain about TV and radio waves the way they did once mobile phone masts began going up. 

    I saw this story on local news (I’m near Cambridge) on Thursday. Here’s the link for anyone who wants to see the 2 minute piece http://www.itv.com/anglia/white-space-new-wi-fi42442/ :) 

    God damn it, why did it have to be M$. At least this is simple enough tech that they have a reduced scope for f***ing with it, however I’m sure they’ll do their best. Nokia are cool, and I guess that now they’re working with MS, there’s the tie-in. BT also suck serious balls, while I think BSkyB is cool. 


  • http://twitter.com/meattherabbit Meat the Rabbit

    This is extremely exciting, though I doubt it will see national uses for many years.  The most obvious uses are on local levels like community-wide wi-fi meshes or for university campuses.

    Randy Cook
    Accel Networks