Google, Facebook Join International White Spaces Alliance

Google and Facebook have joined an alliance to promote worldwide spectrum policy to free up so-called spectrum "white spaces" for unlicensed devices. The Dynamic Spectrum Alliance announced the additions (which also included Texas Instruments) at its first annual meeting in advance of the opening of the ITU Telecom World 2013 conference in Bangkok. The alliance already included Microsoft and BskyB, among others. The Alliance wants to make "dynamic access" the "default" mode for radio spectrum globally, with room for "legitimate" interference concerns. Microsoft, Google and others successfully promoted the use of the white spaces between TV channels in the US, while broadcasters there raised interference concerns.