Broadcasters lobbying hard against white-space devices

Broadcasters have gone on a lobbying offensive against the "white spaces" technology being trumpeted by Microsoft, Ars Techica reports.

Cox recently gave an FCC presentation at which it told agency staffers that introducing new and unlicensed RF devices into the television spectrum could "undermine [the] already complicated DTV transition" and that "consumers could be the real losers." Cox's presentation raises plenty of fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD), but some of that seems justified by the new technology, which clearly needs plenty of testing before millions of consumer start hooking up these devices.

Far worse, the National Alliance of State Broadcasters Associations offered some harsh words on why the FCC should not consider white spaces.

"Why also would the FCC consider allowing millions and millions of these interference causing devices, like 'germs,' to spread throughout America with the ability to attack the TV receivers in people's homes, apartments, hotel rooms, hospital rooms, dormitories, etc., with no way for the owner of the TV set (the 'victim') to determine what was causing the 'illness' to his or her TV set?"

A sure sign of FUD: All the opposition of the devices focuses on the FCC's original test report, which was based on a broken unit. A second model detected signals with 100 percent accuracy, Ars says.

Microsoft has been lobbying heavily, as well. Microsoft's chief research and strategy officer, Craig Mundie, has talked with several FCC commissioners to point out further results of the company's testing. According to Mundie, the devices can detect television signals down to a level of -114dBm with 100 percent accuracy.