Wireless Broadband
The TV bands are best known for conventional analog and digital television. Did you know that several other service operate in the band as secondary spectrum users? Examples include:
- Wireless microphones
- Land mobile radio
(e.g. police and fire) - Medical telemetry devices
- Video assist devices
For a detailed analysis of device and service security requirements, see our architecture document. More >
Wireless medical telemetry is generally used to monitor patient physiological parameters (e.g., cardiac signals) over a distance via radio-frequency (RF) communications between a transmitter worn by the patient and a central monitoring station. These devices have the advantage of allowing patient movement without tethering the patient to a bedside monitor with a hard-wired connection
Movie producers use wireless camera video assist to see what the camera sees.
TV EFP uses wireless camera monitoring video assist for movie-like single camera shoots
Envisioned White Space Unlicensed Services
TV Band resources are expected to enable delivery of new and innovative wireless services across the country. This may have special value in rural areas not served by fiber and wire-line networks in need of cost-effective broadband connectivity for home, school and local Government.
Examples of envisioned services include:
Wireless Home Networking / Access Gateways
TV Band frequencies go further and penetrate walls better than Wi-Fi frequencies. Because of improved propagation an entire house, apartment or buildings may be served from a single access point. This advantage may save money building out infrastructure and in the long-run operating a simpler network.
Wide-Area Wireless Broadband Services
Wireless Internet / Network Service Providers and telephone carriers may use the new frequencies to deliver Internet, voice and video services to urban and rural areas alike. Better propagation yields increased coverage area per service node, reducing up-front investments to deliver services for previously unreachable regions or areas too expensive to build in to.
Municipal Broadband / Digital Divide
Several ambitious municipal Wi-Fi projects have failed from the expense of building and supporting the dense networks required by 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi networks. TV Band channels with improved range and penetration may lead to lower capital and operational expenses and give Municipal Broadband initiatives a second chance at success.
Ad-Hoc Peer to Peer and Neighborhood Mesh Networks
While not allowed today, in the future Portable / Consumer devices may have the ability to create their own ad-hoc networks using TV Band frequencies. This capability could enable mobile ad-hoc networking with improved link performance and interference resiliency. Additionally, combining the improved signal propagation and building penetration features with automatic discovery network routing algorithms creates the possibility for self-assembling neighborhood mesh networks. Such innovative scenarios are future concepts enabled and made possible with TV Band resources.