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October 22, 2009
White Space Broadband
It's great to see ths starting. It has only been a short time since the analog TV signal stopped in the U.S. and now the system is open for innovation.
First white space broadband deployment in small Virginia town
"The nation's first wireless broadband network operating in unused TV channel "white spaces" is now live in an unlikely spot—Claudville, Virginia.
Claudville is a small place—only 20,000 people live in the entire county, and only 900 in Claudville proper—and its Blue Ridge Mountain terrain has made Internet access hard to come by. Combine that with a countywide per capita income of $15,574 and its not hard to see why the big ISPs haven't rushed to Claudville.
In testimony before Congress in April 2009, county supervisor Jonathan Large lamented his region's lack of broadband Internet connectivity, saying that it was hurting both education and the jobs market.
"Students need the capability to connect via high speed Internet to do research or complete course assignments from their homes," he said. "The schools simply cannot provide enough computers simultaneously for all the students who want to use them at school… If the county has any hope of recruiting new companies to the area, high speed Internet connectivity is an inherent demand to be met. If it is not available, they will not come."
I know this will spread and connect up more folks with equitable access.
Stephen
Posted by stephen at October 22, 2009 11:01 AM