White Space trial: First Cambridge, then... THE WORLD

Despite blanketing Cambridge with trials, and White Space kit becoming legal in the USA, the White Space Summit in Duxford yesterday was still focusing on trying to convince the world that the technology will change everything – and for the better. In the UK, White Space devices should be legal around the end of 2012, and …

[Dave Rickmers]

Not "WiFi on Steroids" after all?

In the largest US cities there are no "white spaces" available. They are getting ready to re-band television for the second time in 10 years. I can't see making any investment in radios that may be obsolete in a few years. It definitely will never be sold retail to consumers.

[Tom 13]

I expect that the reason this hasn't caused more problems and outcry

in the US is that the vast majority of us just don't use Broadcast TV anymore. If you want high speed internet you need a wire. If you have a wire, you may as well bring your tv in on it as well. I expect the only folks really seeing the effects are the broadcast companies themselves and ham radio operators who are themselves are diminishing percentage of the population.

[Adrian 4]

Re: I expect that the reason this hasn't caused more problems and outcry

I agree broadcast TV is becoming silly. But i don't see why radio amateurs would be bothered - they can't share the TV frequencies anyway.

[Tom 13]

Re: why radio amateurs would be bothered

Not so much that they use it and it causes problems for them, just that in my experience ham operators seem to be aware of everything that affects any part of the radio spectrum.

[Anonymous Coward]

"deploy intelligent litter bins, which know when they're full, and parking spaces, which know when they're empty, along a host of similar applications."

This is really earth shatteringly important stuff. Mankind has been held back for so long by unintelligent litter bins and stupid parking spaces.

[Steve Sherlock]

Parking in busy places...

So you've never done three laps of town trying to find a space? If the data is available, it can be stuck into an app. Whether the final use is helping you to find somewhere to park or letting you check online before you leave to see how busy the shops are going to be, I'd say that's a useful bit of data.

There's plenty more inventions of the past that have seemed useless at the time, but turned into something we find critical now.

"I think there is a world market for maybe five computers."

- Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943.

"But what ... is it good for?"

- Engineer at the Advanced Computing Systems Division of IBM, 1968, commenting on the microchip.

And just in the interest of not only picking on IBM:

" There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home."

- Ken Olson, president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977.

[John Brown (no body)]

@Steve Sherlock

In a reletively quite area it might work, but when there's 300 cars chasing all over town looking for the three parking spaces advertising themselves as vacant, I can just imagine the frustration of the drivers following the apps directions only be told that someone else got there first. Meanwhile, two spots just opened up back where the driver just came from. He races back, but gets beaten to it again.

I foresee an increase in roadrage.

At least now it's pretty random if you find a space on a busy day and most people will either be "lucky" or will wait for a space in area where it's likely to be shoppers coming and going.

[Anonymous Coward]

maybe

But only until plastic/kevlar cars, unless the system is camera based.

[Mage]

The description is erroneous

There is no white space.

Rolled out Nationally this WILL cause problems but people will not know who to complain to or what about.

Coupled with the stupidity of Ofcom handing Interference complaints to BBC to process this is a disaster.

[Mr Finance]

I'm a big bull on white spaces, but the applications the article and Neul refer to are laughable. A) the chip won't be $2 anytime before an lte 800mhz chip (or even multimode - economies of scale and all that) will be. B) the comm chip cost is minor vs the sensor costs in the apps refered to (parking/bins), and C) which half competent council purchasing manger will want to commit long term gov funding to a single provider niche network when you have a competitive choice of lte 800 nets.