Future Wireless Standard to Use Unused TV Channels
The IEEE 802.22 Group is working on a new standard intended to increase the efficiency of spectrum use by enabling the deployment of wireless regional area networks in the “white space” between the coverage areas of over-the-air broadcast VHF/UHF TV stations. The standard would work on a non-interfering basis and will facilitate the provision of fixed wireless broadband access services within 40 km or more of a transmitter.
The 802.22 is meant to provide connectivity in locales that cannot be served economically by more traditional wireline services, such as DSL and cable modem. The formal title of the 802.22 project is “Wireless Regional Area Networks (WRAN). “When complete, this standard should open a large broadband market and provide significant economic and societal benefits … It will be especially applicable to sparsely populated areas where wireline service is economically infeasible due to the distance between potential users,” says Carl R. Stevenson from the IEEE 802.22 Working Group.
There were no planned enduser bit speeds or capacity mentioned by now. Some 10 proposals were consolidated initially in November 2005 to two at the beginning of March 2006 to start working on the thing. The unified proposal will serve as a baseline for developing the standard.