FCC Approves Unlicensed Use of White-Space Spectrum 138
sidesh0w was one of a number of readers to alert us to the FCC's unanimous decision approving unlicensed devices to use the white spaces of the spectrum unused by television broadcasters, provided they take certain precautions not to interfere with licensed users. "Denying a tremendous last-minute lobbying effort by broadcasters, the vote on white space devices went ahead as planned today after a several-hour delay at FCC headquarters. When the vote came, though, it was unanimous. For the Democrats on the Commission, the devices are appealing because they offer a potential new avenue for broadband services, while the Republicans are pleased for the same reasons, but love the fact that this is a deregulatory order that focuses on less regulation and more competition."
Re:Great! More interference (Score:3, Insightful)
Wow, that was an incredibly bitter and spiteful comment.
What happened that makes you wish harm on complete strangers that likely had no idea that their devices were problematic?
Re:Great! More interference (Score:3, Insightful)
Has your life been negatively impacted by these "illegal" wireless microphones ? No ? Then STFU!
The whole concept of licensing airwaves is loopy to begin with. Who "owns" the airwaves ? Not the US Gov't nor the FCC. I respect the need for some regulation, mainly to ensure operability, but that's roughly where my concern ends.
Re:Great! More interference (Score:2, Insightful)
Right, so the only people who own the airwaves are those who can shout over all the others.
Might makes right, motherfuckers!
Re:Great! More interference (Score:5, Insightful)
Harm? I'm not wishing harm on them nearly as much as I'm cheering the equality that's being forced upon them. If they want interference-free equipment, they'll now have to license it just like everyone else.
I have ALWAYS paid for my FCC licenses because the law says I'm supposed to. They didn't, and never have.
I might have had one ounce of sympathy if they didn't rise up as a group crying when someone else wanted to share their sandbox. But no, they've been using something for free that was not lawfully theirs to use in the first place, and now the FCC has said "it's a public sandbox and everyone else gets to play there too."
Re:Great! More interference (Score:4, Insightful)
"Has your life been negatively impacted by these "illegal" wireless microphones ? No ? Then STFU!"
Actually yes, yes it has. Multiple times.
And opening this spectrum doesn't stop the existing non-broadcast users from utilizing it ... and for free ... it just allows everyone else to do the same thing. Oh, wait, now other devices are going to stomp on those frequencies? Well ... bone up ... because those microphones have been doing it others for awhile.
And you're sitting there going off about how no one "owns" the airwaves? That sounds like the position of someone in favor of deregulation. Guess what this judgement just did for those frequencies? That's right. Deregulated them.
Re:Great! More interference (Score:5, Insightful)
Why yes, my life has indeed been negatively impacted. I've been paying the FCC for licenses to use a tiny portion of the spectrum. And I've been supporting more than my fair share because these scofflaws have not been paying at all.
Without the revenue from the licenses, we would have no regulatory body, and without rules we simply would not have any working RF devices at all. A few giant broadcasters would be pumping megawatts into a handful of megastations, and we'd probably be getting nothing but crappy AM radio leaking interference into every electronic device in existence. Nobody would be responsible for ensuring their signals are of high quality and don't leak. Tiny signals would be drowned out. Cell phones would be impossible, as would any of the GPRS / 3G / EDGE type networking solutions. The fact that the FCC has provided this badly needed regulation says to me that they're an effective body (despite Pacifica and the censorship issues.)
And the licenses pay for it all. My license and my dollars have paid for my small portion of it. Their money has not. It's time for them to pick up the slack since they're reaping the benefit.
Re:Great! More interference (Score:5, Insightful)
the radio spectrum is a limited public resource. it's something that is incredibly useful (and increasingly vital) but has to be shared by everyone. therefore, in order to prevent the tragedy of the commons [wikipedia.org], it has to be regulated.
and really, the best way to regulate it is through licensing. though how it is licensed could probably use some improvement. and if you are against licensing airwaves, then why are you complaining about the FCC's approval of the unlicensed use of the white-space spectrum?
the people who bitch about how this will affect their TV reception or wireless microphones are basically claiming this entire unlicensed block for themselves and are trying to prevent the development of wireless technologies that are much more broadly useful to the general public. why should they alone be allowed to benefit from this shared public resource? why should their private interests be placed above public interest?
wireless microphones and wireless broadband are not mutually exclusive. but that requires that people be considerate when developing their wireless technologies and implementing wireless applications in the white-space spectrum. i mean, when you use an unlicensed spectrum you should naturally expect to have other devices residing on the same frequencies. that's why it's an unlicensed spectrum.
Please don't confuse ... (Score:5, Insightful)
Did somebody just describe God's Own Crony Capitalists(tm) as loving competition?
Please don't confuse the Neocon faction currently in control of the Republican party electoral machinery (and most of the (R) seats in the congress) with conservatives. B-)
Republicans in appointed and bureaucratic positions are more likely to be from the other factions - some of which give more than lip service to economic freedom (which emphatically includes competition and excludes government action selectively helping favorites).
A tremendous opportunity (Score:4, Insightful)
This is undoubtedly the right technical move. There is a huge amount of underused bandwidth in this part of the spectrum. As long as there is a reliable way to avoid the licensed operators, it would be stupid not to optimize our usage. Not optimizing our bandwidth is one of the reasons why we're slipping in broadband adoption compared to the rest of the world.
Re:Please don't confuse ... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Wait. (Score:3, Insightful)
You do realize that Adam Smith, the founder of capitalist theory says you're wrong, right? Complete deregulation always leads to a one provider monopoly over absolutely all goods and services. There isn't any other possibility, eventually one business gains enough resources to start merging and ultimately wins out over all the other companies.
There's a reason why regulations exist and it is precisely to prevent that sort of scenario from playing out. The Republican party chooses to be ignorant of capitalism so that they can justify wealth redistribution up the income ladder.