Cambridge White Space Trial Declared A Success

The testing of white space technology in Cambridge has been deemed a success, according to the consortium of companies involved in the project.

It was back in June 2011 when the consortium revealed it would test “white space” spectrum in Cambridge, to see if the technology can provide suitable bandwidth to bridge the final areas of the UK not adequate served by fixed-line broadband services.

White Space Trial

The consortium was made of some big name companies, namely Microsoft, BT, BBC, and Virgin Media, but also included the likes of Adaptrum, Alcatel-Lucent, Arqiva, BSkyB, Cambridge Consultants, CRFS, CSR plc, Digital TV Group (DTG), Neul, Nokia, Samsung, Spectrum Bridge, and The Technology Partnership plc (TTP).

The ten months of testing, in both urban and rural areas was apparently successful, said the consortium, and confirmed that television white spaces spectrum can be “successfully utilised to help satisfy the rapidly accelerating demand for wireless connectivity.”

The TV white spaces are essentially the gaps in the radio spectrum between broadcast channels, and have been viewed as a potential way to improve rural broadband, although it can also be used to provide widespread coverage in urban areas as well as machine to machine communication (i.e dustbins telling the local council when they need emptying etc).

For the rural trial, the consortium installed a base station was installed at TTP’s headquarters in Melbourn, a rural community south of Cambridge, and linked to a household in Orwell. Apparently residents in the hamlet were able to achieve download speeds of up to 8Mbps over a distance of 5.5 kilometres, a big improvement over their fixed-line ADSL service.

TTP believes it would be possible to achieve speeds greater than 20Mbps as well.

Ofcom Regulations

The consortium said it will present its findings to Ofcom, and it “recommends that the UK regulator Ofcom complete its development of the enabling regulatory framework in a manner that protects licensees from harmful interference and encourages innovation and deployment.”

“With the rapid rise of mobile broadband and the desire to enable remote areas to enjoy the benefits of broadband, the need for more efficient spectrum use has never been greater,” said the consortium. “The UK is playing a leading role by exploring the use of licence-exempt access to TV white spaces and developing a model regulatory framework. None of this would have been possible without the support of Ofcom – and the constructive and unprecedented collaboration of the companies involved – to progress this groundbreaking mode of spectrum access.”

“We welcome today’s results from the Cambridge White Space TV trial and look forward to other industry led testing of the technology,” said Ofcom’s Director of Spectrum Policy, H Nwana. “There will soon be a real spectrum crunch and European consumers as a whole will lose out unless we find more fundamental ways – such as White Space technology – to meet demand.  Within Europe, Ofcom has been leading the way to harness this capacity without causing harmful interference to existing users of the spectrum. It presents a big opportunity for innovation and enterprise and we are encouraged by today’s results.”

Government Comment

“I welcome the success to date of the Cambridge White Spaces Trial,” said Communications Minister Ed Vaizey.

“Leading innovators from the UK and beyond have demonstrated the potential that television white spaces can have for meeting the UK’s broadband needs. Developments such as this endorse the leadership position that the UK can take in enabling more efficient use of spectrum by opening up an array of opportunities for wireless applications for consumers and businesses alike.”

“I find the idea of using white space devices to deliver broadband to rural communities, or to expand the range and quality of urban Wi-Fi hotspots, exciting,” Vaizey added. “This can form a significant contribution to our thinking as we consider how to maximise the value of the spectrum below 1 GHz. I look forward to hearing the next chapter of your progress.”

Previous Tests

Last month, BT said it would extend its white space technology trial into Cornwall in the summer and is also currently conducting a small-scale trial of white space technology on the Isle of Bute up in south west Scotland, specifically for the ‘broadcasting’ of broadband services into that remote location. In February the government the government said it would make mobile operators pay into a fund which will be used to resolve any interference 4G network cause to TV signals.

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