Free Spectrum Applications

Here is a page to compile actual or potential applications and implications of free spectrum uses. Please contribute. Help policy-makers understand the benefits of free airwaves!

To follow policy developments in the EU regarding spectrum policy, visit this page.

Bridging the digital divide:

• Connecting remote or rural areas to the Internet, without waiting for telecoms operators to find it profitable
• Municipal wireless projects could see new life because the greater range of white space spectrum could reduce implementation costs of city-wide hotspots.

Optimizing our communications infrastructure:

• 802.22 Wireless Protocol http://ieee802.org/22/
  • This protocol is intended for use in public and or cluttered wireless spectra. It coordinates transceivers and mitigates many of the problems associated with interference.
• Web-connected devices like e-book readers, media players, smart meters and even vehicles might rely less on 3G or 4G networks for connectivity due to free or lower-cost white space network access.
• Building of community-wide communication systems
• Building of community emergency-relief communication systems

Fostering innovation in the digital economy:

• An entirely new industry could rise, similar to that of the Wi-Fi market over the past dozen or so years, as new and updated baseband chips to support such frequencies will be needed for laptops, smartphones and notebooks.
• "Internet of things" needing a wide and pervasive communication network in everyone's private sphere
• Allowing for experimentation of new protocols and technologies using cheap, commodity hardware