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Data rate: Assuming one white-spaces Internet tower for every 2,000 people, with each person transferring data 24 hours a day, long-range wireless data speeds will vary considerably. Blue shows the lowest speeds; red the highest. Credit: Mubaraq Mishra/Berkeley/IEEE A person living in upstate Michigan may gain significantly more from the death of analog television than someone living in New York City--at least, as far as long-range wireless Internet is concerned, a study suggests. On November 4, 2008, the Federal Communications Commission voted to allow the "white spaces" in the radio spectrum that were freed up by the analog television switch-off to be used for long-distance wireless Internet connectivity. This spectrum will be unlicensed, meaning any standards-compliant device can use it.

The most detailed analysis yet of the potential of these white spaces for long-distance wireless Internet has now been published by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley. Their models illustrate how the interaction of population density, television stations, and economics will determine what consumers ultimately get.


To read the full, original article click on this link: Technology Review: Study Shows Inequalities in "White-Spaces" Wireless

Author: Tom Simonite