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Gates to FCC: Give Us More WiFi Spectrum

Posted Mar 14, 08 11:07 AM CDT in Technology 

(Newser) – A month after Microsoft failed its second opportunity to convince the FCC that companies could deliver broadband Internet via unused TV frequencies without interfering with programming, Bill Gates pushed regulators Thursday to approve the plan, Reuters reports. He said “white space” between channels could allow WiFi to “explode” into less densely populated areas of the US.

The FCC has tested two Microsoft devices aimed at detecting, but not interfering with, television signals—and both have failed. The TV industry wants regulators to nix the project, but the FCC is going forward with tests of prototypes by other makers. Microsoft’s research chief called TV white space the industry’s “last hope to get some good spectrum.”

Sources Reuters, CNN

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Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, March 12, 2008, before the House Science and Technology Committee hearing on competitiveness and innovation.   (AP Photo/Dennis Cook)
Microsoft founder Bill Gates speaks to university and high school students during a stop in Waterloo, Ont., Thursday, Feb. 21, 2008.   (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Adrian Wyld)
Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates gestures while speaking at Stanford University in Stanford, Calif., Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2008.   (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates speaks at Memorial Auditorium at Stanford University in Stanford, Calif., Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2008.   (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
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television • Microsoft • FCC • Bill Gates • Wi-Fi • broadband Internet • white space • spectrum


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