FCC, Google Going Global With White Spaces
If you didn’t know, analog televisions will soon stop working. The United States government is officially ending the reign of the dying technology but more importantly, it opens up value spectrum that can be used for other technologies. A couple months ago, the FCC agreed to make this spectrum “open” and Google praised the move saying we’ll soon have WiFi on Steroids.
This technology could undoubtedly be used to create an Android device that would connect to the open internet via new standards and boost mobile internet usage in general, too. Logistics have yet to be determined and there are still plenty of technological barriers, such as potential interference with existing television signals, that have to be overcome.
Google was the main corporate proponent of the new, open spectrum and it’s easy to see why. But now, the FCC is taking the push for White Space openness global and Google is again praising the effort saying it will help take bring the internet to everyone, everywhere.
That it will, Google. That it will.
It will also help more people conduct web searches and therefore see Google ads and therefore genereate revenue for Google. But more importantly, at least to this here blog, is that it will help move towards always available internet access directly from your mobile phone.
We’ve talked about the potential for 100% free phones with 100% free service supported by on-phone advertising and this brings it one step closer. It’s probably a long shot and/or long-term vision but hey, it could happen.
Google will certainly be doing everything they can to push this initiative and support the FCC in the global task in any way they can. It will be interesting to see how the world responds and perhaps most interesting to see how the new Obama administration react to this initiative, and Google’s participation, in light of the global economic downturn.
[Via Search Engine Watch]