Broadcasting to Broadband

Will Unlicensed Access to TV White Space Spur "WiFi on Steroids"?

New America Foundation
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
12:15 p.m. - 1:45 p.m.

A proposed Order implementing open access to the vacant TV channels in every media market nationwide will be voted on at the Federal Communication Commission's September 23 Open Meeting. Will reallocating the majority of TV frequencies from broadcasting to unlicensed broadband herald an era of "Wi-Fi on Steroids" - as Google co-founder Larry Page has proclaimed - or will it be of marginal utility?

The debate over opening the vast wasteland of unused TV band spectrum capacity has stretched on since the FCC's 2002 Spectrum Policy Task Force. In November 2008, the Commission provisionally approved unlicensed access to the White Space by a 5-0 vote. Now, after bitter debates between broadcasters, wireless microphone makers, high-tech companies and public interest advocates, a final vote to open the TV band for broadband is at hand.

Join us to hear and engage with a variety of perspectives about why the FCC's pending Order - and unlicensed access to channels in every market - is pivotal to the nation's broadband future.

Featured Speakers
Christian Duffus
Vice President Corporate Development, Spectrum Bridge

Paula Boyd
Regulatory Affairs Counsel, Microsoft

Wendy Wigen
Government Relations Officer, EDUCAUSE

Nicol Turner-Lee, PhD
Vice President and Director, Media Technology Institute
Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies

Liam Quinn
Chief Technology Officer for Security, Communications and Peripherals, Dell

Stephen Coran
Regulatory Counsel, WISPA
Principal, Rini Coran PC

Michael Calabrese
Wireless Future Project, Open Technology Initiative
New America Foundation

Moderator
Sascha Meinrath
Director, Open Technology Initiative
New America Foundation

To RSVP for the event:
http://www.newamerica.net/events/2010/broadcasting_to_broadband

For questions, contact Stephanie Gunter at (202) 596-3367 or gunter@newamerica.net

For media inquiries, contact Kate Brown at (202) 596-3365 or brown@newamerica.net