[Chapter-delegates] MIcrosoft White Space & Spectrum Sharing efforts

[Christian de Larrinaga]

I don't understand where ITU can add any value for this?

White Space depends on local dynamic allocations of spectrum to infill
spectrum space as and when it is available. This requires data that is
typically managed via a whitespace database.  As this changes depending
on what is being used and its usefulness is very localised in both time
and location how would global white space "co-ordination" add any value?

just asking?

Christian
PS Joly .. Ofcom our noble regulator in the UK issued a fatwa during the
summer on whitespace to us lazy slow adopters. "Use it or lose it". I'd
be interested in any technical approaches which could eliminate the need
for a local regulator managed database. That would both reduce, cost,
overhead and make whitespace much more attractive to support. 

> Grigori Saghyan
> 14 November 2013 21:08
>
> Microsoft came too late. Starting 2015 ITU will take care for intl
> coordination only for digital TV, which is without white spaces.
> All white spaces will be allocated in the Digital Dividend -extra 80
> MHz spectrum in 800 MHZ band, which will be distributed among cellular
> operators.
>
>
>
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> Joly MacFie
> 14 November 2013 20:19
> An interesting report by Tammy Parker, on ISOC Organizational member
> Microsoft's efforts to develop white space tech worldwide. I've
> snipped some salient paragraphs.
>
> http://www.fiercewireless.com/tech/special-reports/microsoft-mixing-tv-white-space-spectrum-policy-and-altruism
>
> Microsoft has embarked on a global strategy to develop and promote TV
> white space technology as well as spread the news about the benefits
> of liberalized spectrum policies in conjunction with the use of
> dynamic spectrum-sharing technologies.
>
> Microsoft has involved itself in lots of initiatives to bring Internet
> connectivity to the unconnected and underserved. TV white space (TVWS)
> spectrum trials in places such as Kenya [1], South Africa[2] and
> Tanzania[3] are being conducted under the Microsoft 4Afrika
> Initiative,[4] and Microsoft is also involved in TVWS trials in
> Singapore and the Philippines. In the United Kingdom, Microsoft was
> involved in what was at the time the world's largest TVWS trial in
> Cambridge, England. That effort wrapped up during April 2012, but now
> the company is about to embark on a TVWS trial in Glasgow,
> Scotland,[5] in partnership with the University of Strathclyde and
> several industry partners.
>
> In all of these trials, Microsoft and its collaborators are basically
> using TVWS spectrum--vacant frequencies that sit between TV broadcast
> channels--to backhaul Wi-Fi hotspots, connecting the TVWS base station
> to a Wi-Fi access point which then links to end-user devices.
>
> <snip>
>
> Microsoft's TVWS trials are key to the company's efforts to convince
> telecom regulators of the value of unlicensed, shared spectrum. For
> example, the company is working closely with Singapore's regulator to
> form a TVWS regulatory process.
>
> <snip>
>
> Microsoft is also involved in efforts to show that most spectrum
> remains unused most of the time in most places. The company's Spectrum
> Observatory[6] gathers information from sensors set up in four
> locations. Two of the locations are in the Seattle area, one is on top
> of Microsoft's offices in Washington, D.C., and another is at the
> company's offices in Brussels.
>
> While uncovering large amounts of unused spectrum can help the company
> form policy discussions, Garnett said the data also contributes to
> research advancements by helping Microsoft see how spectrum is used in
> different bands by different types of radios and technologies.
>
> Microsoft intends to significantly expand the spectrum observation
> project over the next year, adding more locations around the world,
> such as at universities where researchers are also interested in such
> information.
>
> Though much has been made of the possibilities for using TVWS to
> introduce affordable broadband access to developing markets such as
> Africa, Garnett noted that urban areas in developed markets also
> require technologies that can deliver more bandwidth to consumers on a
> less expensive per-bit basis. In major cities, one can often find a
> couple hundred or more megahertz of unused TV frequencies that can be
> used for broadband access. Even in densely populated locales such as
> Singapore or London, where there is heavy use of TV broadcast
> frequencies, there could be upwards of 50 MHz of TVWS frequencies
> available, he said.
>
> Garnett charges that current TVWS rules enacted by the FCC, which has
> led the world in setting early TVWS usage policy, are too strict. "The
> rules are written in such a way that white space devices can't have
> access to [all of the] unused channels because of adjacent channel
> rules and other rules that the FCC adopted to protect incumbent
> broadcasters from interference. We think that they're probably too
> conservative," he said.
>
> As part of its championing of liberalized spectrum policies, Microsoft
> is a charter member of the Dynamic Spectrum Alliance[7], which
> recently chose London for its headquarters. The group's mission is to
> influence regulators to support TVWS technology and spectrum sharing.
>
> <snip>
>
> All of Microsoft's efforts to champion a TVWS industry and lobby for
> spectrum sharing incur costs but have no immediate financial returns
> for Microsoft. However, they could breed future upsides.
>
> "We're trying to take a longer-term strategic view on the issue of
> access," Garnett said. "Doing low-cost access networks in partnership
> with ISPs in developing markets makes perfect sense, and, of course,
> over time those markets will become more mature."
>
> Microsoft recently joined the Alliance for Affordable Internet,[8]
> which wants to drive down Internet prices in developing countries.
> Garnett said that in Africa, "where the majority of the top 10 growth
> economies are located," it is true that many people cannot afford
> broadband access if it costs more than a few dollars a month. But he
> expects that in the future, as economies expand and as broadband
> prices fall, people they will be interested in gaining Internet access
> and purchasing technology, such as Microsoft-brand products.
>
>
> [1}
http://www.fiercewireless.com/tech/press-releases/microsoft-teams-government-kenya-and-indigo-telecom-deliver-low-cost-solar
>
> [2]
http://www.fiercewireless.com/tech/story/microsoft-launching-tv-white-space-pilots-two-nations/2013-07-28
>
> [3]
http://www.fiercewireless.com/tech/story/microsoft-unveils-tv-white-space-pilot-tanzania/2013-05-08
>
> [4] http://www.microsoft.com/africa/4afrika/
>
> [5]
http://www.fiercewireless.com/europe/story/ofcom-picks-bt-microsoft-and-google-major-white-spaces-trial/2013-10-04
>
> [6] http://spectrum-observatory.cloudapp.net/
>
> [7] http://www.dynamicspectrumalliance.org/
>
> [8] https://a4ai.org/
>
>