Just when it seems that the haggling over what to do with TV spectrum for wireless broadband use couldn’t get more contentious, a new proposal comes along that adds the promise of 4G equivalent service for free to the debate.
This week SpectrumEvolution.org (SEO), the advocacy group which has worked to give broadcasters the regulatory authority to employ new modulation methods, announced draft legislation is circulating among some members of Congress to authorize low-power television license holders to provide wireless Internet service.
The announcement comes on the heels of an FCC report to Congress that reported among other things that 26 million people in rural America don’t have access to broadband service and another third of Americans have not signed up, even though service is available.
SEO president Greg Herman has been in Washington, D.C., visiting members of Congress to advance the idea that LPTV stations could begin delivering broadband wireless Internet service on their 6MHz channels within months if given authorization to do so.
In this podcast interview, Herman discusses the proposal and where the issue stands in Congress.
