IEEE has been working on standards for white space operations since the FCC first launched the rulemaking in 2004.
At the IEEE Broadcast Technology Society symposium this week in Alexandria, Va., Winston Caldwell of the Fox Technology Grou, presented an overview of proposed technical requirements for a wireless broadband communications system designed to operate on the white spaces.
He said the service would provide broadband on unused VHF and UHF channels for residents of rural and outer suburban areas and listed a number safeguards that are woven into the IEEE's 802.22 proposed standard on wireless regional area networks (WRANs) to protect television broadcast operations. These included the use of a database, geolocation, cognitive capabilities, a point-to-point topology that would allow users to connect only with a base station and not each other, and the requirement that the base station with which the devices communicate must be professionally installed with an outdoor antenna 10 meters in the clear.
IEEE 802.22 has completed its first "Letter Ballot" phase, "and its delivered solution has reached a level of recognition where it is expected that the standard will influence upcoming rules and regulations," Caldwell wrote in his overview.
The Letter Balloting will continue until it attains 75 percent support of voting members, and enter the next phase of voting.
