Signal to Noise

Well, this is a harbinger.  The deal supported by Microsoft, Google, and others to unlock spectrum between frequencies used by television station for unlicensed data access applications was approved by the FCC yesterday, and the usual suspects are upset about it.

That is–NBC, Disney, and the traditional TV gang are concerned that localized use of these relatively low frequency channels will impeded delivery of television service.  To which I’ll say this.  Most folks who consume a lot of TV (me not included) already receive television delivery through cable, fiber, or satellite schemes, making interference a non-issue.  The remainder tend to be people who don’t watch a lot of TV or people who are of little interest to advertisers.

So the question is: what are the TV people so upset about? Control.

Their industry is vanishing under sands blown by the winds of change.   Consumers’ awareness of user-centricity has pushed the debate over good access technologies into the spotlight, and the stubbornness of local telcos and cable operators to deliver on the promise of post-broadband Internet services has forced the hand of those who benefit most from a heavily utilized Internet infrastructure: Microsoft, Google, and the like.

Not surprising. And definitely a welcome move from my point of view.

It will be interesting to see how the spectrum ends up getting used.  What devices will facilitate the use of these channels?  Will we see new kinds of access points, or will local service operators finally be able to deliver good wireless last mile access along with their other services? Imagine post-broadband speed from your satellite operator or even your local television broadcaster.  This opens up a lot of possibilities.