The decision initially covers only one product, and is limited to the pilot city of Wilmington, N.C.

But backers of the technology hope those white spaces prove as big a boost to innovation as the unlicensed spectrum that gave birth to Wi-Fi.

“We see this as a multibillion-dollar industry,” said Rod Dir, CEO of Spectrum Bridge, the company whose database is a key component of the white spaces system approved by the FCC.

White spaces, for the uninitiated, are the spectrum spots in between TV channels. Like the 2.4GHZ spectrum used by several flavors of Wi-Fi, the white spaces are unlicensed spectrum, meaning any device that agrees to play nice with others and gains regulatory approval can operate in the frequency. Devices that are approved to operate in the white spaces spectrum are required to check in with a database to see which channels are available. (For more, check out AllThingsD’s handy FAQ post from last week.)

Over time, analysts imagine a range of wireless and wired devices that can use the white spaces as a sort of “Super Wi-Fi” that can operate over greater distance and perform better indoors.

For now, though, FCC approval is limited to fixed devices using a radio from one supplier, Koos Technical Services. Among the initial uses seen for white spaces are helping bring wireless internet to rural areas and municipal Wi-Fi to smaller cities.

While Wi-Fi often gets spotty after more than 100 meters, and signals often are stymied by walls, white-space signals can carry far further. They can go for several miles, albeit at slower speeds.

“The key element of that for us is the greater coverage that’s possible compared to other services,” said Bill Koos, president of KTS. The company has seen signals that can travel on average two to three miles via antennas that are no more than 30 or 40 feet high.

Some of the uses that have excited officials in Wilmington, Koos said, are the ability to monitor machines, offer wireless Internet access in public places, and even do some video surveillance. Although it doesn’t deliver the kind of speeds needed for, say, streaming Netflix, Koos said the signal is good enough for sending video security footage.

As the radio needed to access the white spaces is brought down to a single chip, the technology should find its way into other products, such as laptops, tablets and phones, perhaps by the middle of 2013. Because of its range and other advantages, Dir said, he expects cellular companies to eventually use the white spaces to handle data-intensive tasks when a signal is available.

“We believe the carrier will eventually migrate to TV white space for offload,” Dir said.

While that is certainly a possibility, wireless analyst Chetan Sharma expects to see the technology far sooner in devices other than cellphones, which are already crammed full of batteries that add cost and sap battery life. That said, the advantages of white spaces, especially its ability to work better indoors, make it a potentially attractive option to carriers struggling with heavy data demands and limited cellular spectrum.

“It remains to be seen,” Sharma said.

(Image credit: iStockphoto | gaiamoments)

The product getting the okay is designed to offer broadband service, and is made by a company called Koos Technical Services. KTS has been among the companies heavily involved in working with the FCC to test white-spaces devices.

The white spaces, though not without their challenges, are seen by proponents as offering some of the same potential uses as the unlicensed regions used by Wi-Fi. Because they operate at a lower frequency range, they offer the potential to work over a longer range and perform better indoors.

“With today’s approval of the first TV white spaces database and device, we are taking an important step towards enabling a new wave of wireless innovation,” FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said in a statement. “Unleashing white spaces spectrum has the potential to exceed even the many billions of dollars in economic benefit from Wi-Fi, the last significant release of unlicensed spectrum, and drive private investment and job creation.”

Approval is limited, for now, to service in Wilmington, N.C. But it’s a first step for an area that has long been talked about as rich for new innovation.

The FCC said the approval will be expanded nationwide once the government finishes establishing procedures for those using wireless microphones (which also operate in these areas of spectrum) to coexist with devices running in the white spaces.

Regulators have been looking to open up the spectrum for some time, and have worked to address objections from the TV industry (and performers including Dolly Parton), who have worried about potential interference. The FCC voted last year to formally open the spectrum up to devices, after granting initial approval back in 2008.

(Image credit: iStockphoto | gaiamoments)

I don’t know all the legalese concerning this issue so I’ve had some very smart people inform me about the legalities here. I do know, however, that as a performer who tours much of the country throughout the year and is involved in several live entertainment ventures, I join with fellow producers and performers across the country in bringing this matter to your attention. I have deep concern over the Commission’s announcement that it intends to vote on an order allowing devices using spectrum sensing technology to occupy the ‘white space’ radio frequencies on November 4, 2008.”

– Excerpt from Dolly Parton’s Oct. 24 letter to the FCC

Over the objections of television broadcasters, theater producers and Dolly Parton, the Federal Communications Commission Tuesday approved a plan to open up unused frequencies between television channels–known as “white spaces”–for a national broadband network. This 300MHz to 400MHz range of unused spectrum lies between channels 2 to 51 on analog television sets and is perfect for offering wireless broadband services because it’s able to carry signals long distances and easily penetrate trees and walls. And while critics argue that using them in this way might interfere with TV signals or, heaven forbid, the wireless microphones in Dolly Parton’s Broadway production of “9 to 5,” the FCC felt such concerns to be overblown and ruled the country would be better served if the spectrum were opened up for free public use.

“The proponents have argued that we can enable a whole new generation of wireless devices–bringing new broadband connectivity to our rural and urban communities–without harming free, over-the-air TV,” Commissioner Michael J. Copps said Tuesday. “Does this seem almost too good to be true? Of course. But so did the modern cellular industry, the explosion of Wi-Fi devices and so many other innovations at comparable stages in their development. Even the notion of transmitting high-quality video through the air to millions of TV sets must have seemed pretty fantastical when it was first demonstrated decades ago. This is the history of wireless innovation in a nutshell–the nearly miraculous becomes commonplace.”

Google (GOOG), which had lobbied heavily for the move, applauded the FCC’s decision, saying it would spur massive technological innovation. “This is a clear victory for Internet users and anyone who wants good wireless communications,” Google co-founder Larry Page said in a post to the company blog. “We will soon have ‘Wi-Fi on steroids’ since these spectrum signals have much longer range than today’s Wi-Fi technology and broadband access can be spread using fewer base stations resulting in better coverage at lower cost. And it is wonderful that the FCC has adopted the same successful unlicensed model used for Wi-Fi, which has resulted in a projected 1 billion Wi-Fi chips being produced this year. Now that the FCC has set the rules, I’m sure that we’ll see similar growth in products to take advantage of this spectrum.”

Not if the National Association of Broadcasters has anything to do with it. In a statement the NAB said that “every American who values interference-free TV should be concerned by today’s Commission vote” and vowed to fight it “on behalf of the 110 million households that rely on television for news, entertainment and lifesaving emergency information.”

I don’t know all the legalese concerning this issue so I’ve had some very smart people inform me about the legalities here. I do know, however, that as a performer who tours much of the country throughout the year and is involved in several live entertainment ventures, I join with fellow producers and performers across the country in bringing this matter to your attention. I have deep concern over the Commission’s announcement that it intends to vote on an order allowing devices using spectrum sensing technology to occupy the ‘white space’ radio frequencies on November 4, 2008.”

– Excerpt from Dolly Parton’s Oct. 24 letter to the FCC

Over the objections of television broadcasters, theater producers and Dolly Parton, the Federal Communications Commission Tuesday approved a plan to open up unused frequencies between television channels–known as “white spaces”–for a national broadband network. This 300MHz to 400MHz range of unused spectrum lies between channels 2 to 51 on analog television sets and is perfect for offering wireless broadband services because it’s able to carry signals long distances and easily penetrate trees and walls. And while critics argue that using them in this way might interfere with TV signals or, heaven forbid, the wireless microphones in Dolly Parton’s Broadway production of “9 to 5,” the FCC felt such concerns to be overblown and ruled the country would be better served if the spectrum were opened up for free public use.

“The proponents have argued that we can enable a whole new generation of wireless devices–bringing new broadband connectivity to our rural and urban communities–without harming free, over-the-air TV,” Commissioner Michael J. Copps said Tuesday. “Does this seem almost too good to be true? Of course. But so did the modern cellular industry, the explosion of Wi-Fi devices and so many other innovations at comparable stages in their development. Even the notion of transmitting high-quality video through the air to millions of TV sets must have seemed pretty fantastical when it was first demonstrated decades ago. This is the history of wireless innovation in a nutshell–the nearly miraculous becomes commonplace.”

Google (GOOG), which had lobbied heavily for the move, applauded the FCC’s decision, saying it would spur massive technological innovation. “This is a clear victory for Internet users and anyone who wants good wireless communications,” Google co-founder Larry Page said in a post to the company blog. “We will soon have ‘Wi-Fi on steroids’ since these spectrum signals have much longer range than today’s Wi-Fi technology and broadband access can be spread using fewer base stations resulting in better coverage at lower cost. And it is wonderful that the FCC has adopted the same successful unlicensed model used for Wi-Fi, which has resulted in a projected 1 billion Wi-Fi chips being produced this year. Now that the FCC has set the rules, I’m sure that we’ll see similar growth in products to take advantage of this spectrum.”

Not if the National Association of Broadcasters has anything to do with it. In a statement the NAB said that “every American who values interference-free TV should be concerned by today’s Commission vote” and vowed to fight it “on behalf of the 110 million households that rely on television for news, entertainment and lifesaving emergency information.”