Scientists urge governments to turn old TV frequencies into free “super
WiFi”
November 24, 2014
By Lucy Ingham
Factor Magazine
http://www.factor-tech.com/connected-world/9769-scientists-urge-governments-to-turn-old-tv-frequencies-into-free-super-wifi/
Governments should sack plans to auction off old television frequencies
to the highest bidder and instead use the bandwidth for free
super-frequency WiFi if they want to boost the economy, scientists have
said.
Old television frequencies are becoming available for other uses around
the world, thanks to a switch from analogue to digital transmission.
However, while governments are for the most part auctioning these off to
whoever is prepared to pay the most – usually mobile phone networks –
they should instead be using the frequencies to create free-to-use,
wide-range WiFi, scientists from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
(KIT) in Germany have said.
This new “super WiFi” would have a far wider range than existing WiFi
networks, which are mostly transmitted over wireless local area networks
(WLAN) at frequencies of 2GHz or above.
WiFi transmitted over old TV frequencies could be transmitted at lower
frequencies than traditional WiFi, resulting in a far wider area
covered. This super WiFi’s coverage area could even be as big as several
kilometres in radius, a massive improvement on existing networks.
This would mean that pricey mobile services such as 4G were no longer
required, which the scientists believe would lead to more mobile
internet use, and a wealth of economic benefits.
“Implementation of our approach would have far-reaching consequences,”
said Arnd Weber of the Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems
Analysis (ITAS) at KIT.
“Individuals, institutions and companies would be far less dependent on
expensive mobile communications networks in conducting their digital
communication. This would also be of great economic benefit.”
In addition to providing direct, measurable cost savings, the technology
could, according to the researchers, result in the development of a host
of new technologies just as existing WiFi has.
It could also provide direct benefits during disaster scenarios, as a
means of providing updates and enabling communication.
However, the big challenge here is convincing governments that this is
the right move.
Many have argued they these frequencies are common property and
therefore should be made available to the public free of charge, a view
that has been opposition from a number of people, including the late
Nobel Prize winning economist Ronald Coase.
Coase argued that the frequencies should be auctioned off to ensure they
are most effectively used, and the money used by governments to fund
other services.
Others have also argued that congestion would make these lower frequency
networks unworkable, however Weber and his colleague Jens Elsner argue
that it is possible to avoid such congestion with the right
technological approach.
Ultimately, convincing governments will be a matter of showing that
long-term economic benefits greatly outstrip the short-term financial
gains of an auction.
While Weber and Elsner plan to make this case at the UN World
Radiocommunication Conference next year, they will no doubt struggle to
get many governments onboard.
In the long run, though, those of us living in areas where auctions have
gone ahead could find ourselves quite jealous of the countries that
choose the super WiFi option.
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