[opendtv] Re: Google's Page: White spaces test was unfair

"The protocol devices would be designed to operate in the white 
spaces, spectrum designated for television stations but unused. It 
would be "impossible" for the white spaces prototype to detect the 
weak signal that a wireless microphone puts out when a much more 
powerful TV station is using the same spectrum, Page said."

Or "it's unfair that they expect these devices to work with the ACTUAL
conditions that exist today in the United States."

'"There's no way to do that," he said. "You're going to detect the 
television station, not the wireless microphone. What I'm telling you 
is, the test was rigged."'

No, this is more like "I am quite wealthy, and it's obvious that the only
other alternative for me is to recognize that I and my cohorts have never
had anything more than the dimmest clue as to what we were talking about in
this context.  We thought this was simple, and the proponents were wrong
when they said it was complex and couldn't be done."

ALL ALONG, those who actually understand the actual conditions that TV
stations operate within were ENTIRELY CORRECT that these devices would never
work -- without having a $5000 signal level meter attached to each one --
and that the proponents were completely clueless.

So, we now have a billionaire whiner lying about the tests being rigged.

They haven't even begun to scratch the surface of interesting and commonly
seen RF environments.  These devices were intended to, and would have,
destroyed -- at the very least -- emergency broadcasts.  Minor things like
tornado warnings, etc.  In the place of that, we would have enabled gamers
and geeks to exchange porn collections wirelessy. 

I said early on that if successful, these devices would eliminate the need
for the FCC.  We now see why there is a need for the FCC -- to protect the
airwaves from the all-consuming, ill-considered whims of Google.  They
should keep to their 747 "party plane."

John Willkie

-----Mensaje original-----
De: opendtv-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:opendtv-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] En
nombre de Craig Birkmaier
Enviado el: Friday, September 26, 2008 3:32 AM
Para: OpenDTV Mail List
Asunto: [opendtv] Google's Page: White spaces test was unfair

http://www.itworld.com/mobile-amp-wireless/55330/googles-page-white-spaces-t
est-was-unfair

Google's Page: White spaces test was unfair
by Grant Gross

September 24, 2008, 05:04 PM -  IDG News Service -
 
Google cofounder Larry Page blasted as unfair recent interference 
tests of prototype devices that would deliver wireless broadband on 
unused television spectrum.

The tests, conducted by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, 
measured interference with the wrong signals, Page said Wednesday.

The tests attempted to measure interference with wireless microphones 
during a professional football game in Maryland, but those 
microphones were operating on spectrum also occupied by much stronger 
TV signals, said Page, speaking at a Washington, D.C., rally to 
promote the use of so-called white spaces spectrum.

The protocol devices would be designed to operate in the white 
spaces, spectrum designated for television stations but unused. It 
would be "impossible" for the white spaces prototype to detect the 
weak signal that a wireless microphone puts out when a much more 
powerful TV station is using the same spectrum, Page said.

"There's no way to do that," he said. "You're going to detect the 
television station, not the wireless microphone. What I'm telling you 
is, the test was rigged."

Asked if he thought the FCC rigged the test, Page said he did not. He 
didn't elaborate on who rigged the test, but one possible implication 
is that the wireless microphone maker did. The National Association 
of Broadcasters and wireless microphone makers have opposed new 
white-spaces devices, saying there's a significant possibility of 
interference with their signals.

Some mobile phone carriers have also opposed opening up white spaces 
spectrum to new broadband devices. That spectrum could compete with 
mobile service on spectrum that carriers paid billions of dollars 
for. The arguments over the white spaces have grown increasingly 
heated in recent months.

Page called for the FCC to approve the use of the white spaces for 
broadband devices before November's presidential and congressional 
elections. And he suggested that the FCC was putting white spaces 
devices through a more rigorous testing process than it has with 
other devices. Generally, the FCC allows new unlicensed devices to be 
built and to operate in areas designated for unlicensed devices as 
long as they don't interfere with other devices, Page said.

"There's nobody in the world who can truthfully tell you there's no 
way to produce a device that doesn't interfere," Page said. "That's 
just garbage -- not true."

An FCC spokesman didn't immediately return a message asking for 
comment on Page's statement.
But Shure, a maker of wireless microphones, disputed Page's 
description of the FCC's August test in Landover, Maryland.

"The FCC's wireless microphone field tests were carefully planned and 
thoroughly executed based on sound engineering science and real-world 
operating scenarios," said Mark Brunner, Shure's senior director for 
public and industry relations. "These tests were open to the public, 
and those who choose to discount the results -- which have not yet 
been published -- had every option to be present and to witness them 
for themselves."

As Page spoke at the Wireless Innovation Alliance's event in a U.S. 
Senate office building, two members of the House of Representatives 
issued a statement calling for the FCC to protect wireless microphone 
signals.

The FCC tests so far have not proven that white-spaces broadband 
devices can work, said the statement from Representative Jim Cooper, 
a Tennessee Democrat, and Carolyn Maloney, a New York Democrat. In a 
handful of recent FCC tests, white-spaces prototype devices have 
failed, but generally because the devices stopped working, not 
because the devices interfered with TV stations or wireless 
microphones.

"This is an issue that can only be resolved through science and, 
frankly, the tests performed by the FCC in its own labs and in the 
field have not proved that these white space devices can reliably 
detect the presence of a wireless microphone or a TV signal," the two 
lawmakers said in their joint statement. "We can all agree that FCC 
policy should foster innovation and encourage the efficient use of 
public airwaves, but new changes must not come at the expense of 
wireless microphones, which provide an important public good."

In addition to Page, representatives of Microsoft, Motorola, Dell and 
other companies spoke at the white spaces event. Allowing broadband 
devices on the white spaces spectrum would spark hundreds of millions 
of dollars in new technology investment and may present the last 
chance the U.S. has for creating a new national broadband network 
that competes with cable and telecom companies, participants said.

Representative Jay Inslee, a Washington state Democrat, said 
opponents of white spaces are interested in protecting their turf. 
"If you are for innovation, you are for the white spaces," he said.
The technology exists to use white spaces devices without interfering 
with other signals, added Mark McHenry, CEO of Shared Spectrum, a 
company that sells spectrum-sensing radio technology to the U.S. 
military. Shared Spectrum's radio equipment allows the U.S. military 
to set up wireless networks in other countries without interfering 
with local television, he said.
The company is "convinced" that white spaces devices can work without 
interfering in the U.S., he said.
 
 
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