White Spaces Jockeying Continues

Proponents and opponents of using unlicensed wireless devices in unused parts of the broadcast spectrum, the so-called "white spaces," continue to vigorously lobby the Federal Communications Commission with only a week left until to a scheduled vote on the issue. Some 28 members of the House have sent a bipartisan letter to the FCC urging the commission to delay its scheduled Nov. 4 vote and seek public comment on the white spaces rulemaking, citing unfavorable results in an FCC report on field testing of prototype devices this summer. The lawmakers expressed concerns over the devices' interference with both wireless microphones and cable television systems. Meanwhile, key members of the Wireless Innovation Alliance have sent their own letters to the FCC urging Chairman Kevin Martin to go ahead with the Nov. 4 vote, including Google Chairman and CEO Eric Schmidt, Dell Chairman and CEO Michael Dell and The Technology CEO Council, which represents Motorola, Hewlett-Packard, Intel, IBM and EMC, among others.