Utilising unused TV frequencies to provide wireless broadband connectivity increases the range and and penetration of coverage through foliage and reflective water surfaces that traditional Wi-Fi simply cannot penetrate.
Squeezing more more channels from the electromagnetic spectrum.
Currently, the radio spectrum in the TV broadcast bands have been reserved for use by licensed broadcasters and are out-of-bounds for wireless broadband networks.
However, much of these reserved radio spectrum remain unused and are called TV White Spaces (TVWS).
For instance, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia shares out the TV broadcast bands in the region and there are certain bands allocated to Malaysia and Indonesia that Singapore cannot use for TV broadcast.
If these TV White Spaces can be harnessed effectively for wireless broadband connectivity without interfering with the quality of TV broadcast, it will translate to better coverage, lower power consumption and reduced network costs.
The physical characteristics of the 700 MHz band (as compared to the higher-frequency 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands used by traditional Wi-Fi), for example, means that it can reach further, penetrate thick foliage, and transmit across reflective water surfaces with less interference.
In terms of bandwidth, however, both TVWS and Wi-Fi are capable of roughly 2Mbps per MHz. It is the penetrative and low-power attributes of the former that makes it an attractive supplement to the latter.
The spectrum as a precious commodity
Globally, explosive growth of wireless data traffic is putting a severe strain on today’s mobile and Wi-Fi network infrastructure, signalling the need for more efficient management of the spectrum, through policy and technology innovations.
The exploitation of TVWS turns unused TV broadcast frequency bands into premium wireless broadband delivery channels.
