PPH calls on City Council to endorse “white space devices”
Written by Joshua Breitbart Wednesday, 25 March 2009 14:38
New York – Community media and immigrant rights advocates are calling on City Council to endorse “white space devices,” a new technology that would boost the economy and drive down the cost of mobile phone calls and Internet access.
White spaces are the unused airwaves allocated to television signals. With the digital television transition, one-fifth of television channels in New York City are not in use, according to a study conducted by Free Press. Engineering tests conducted by the Federal Communications Commission have shown that low-power, mobile devices can use these channels without interfering with TV broadcasts and wireless microphones on adjacent channels.
The FCC is currently formulating rules to allow – or prohibit – people from using the white spaces, with a decision expected in late October.
“Opening the white spaces would close the digital divide, and it wouldn't cost us a dime – or, rather, it would save us a lot more than a dime on what we're paying now for Internet access and cell phone service,” Joshua Breitbart, Policy Director of People's Production House said.
Mobile phones are far more widespread than computers with at-home Internet, especially among the groups currently marginalized from the Internet. According to the Pew Internet and American Life Project, “African Americans and English-speaking Hispanics are more likely than white Americans to use cell phones or PDAs for non-voice data applications.” The situation is similar, if not quite as dramatic, for seniors and those with low incomes.
“White space devices would be an affordable alternatives for people like me who use expensive phone cards to call family and friends back home in other countries,” Abdulai Bah of Nah We Yone said.
A draft resolution currently before the City Council, sponsored by Councilmember Gale Brewer and Speaker Christine Quinn, claims white space devices would be "devastating" to Broadway productions. The Broadway League, the national trade association for the Broadway industry, opposes the certification of white space devices because the manufacturers of wireless microphone systems believe white space devices will disrupt the wireless microphones that they use for their shows.
The City Council Committee on Technology in Government is holding a hearing on the “white spaces” resolution on Monday, September 29, 2008, at 10:00am, in the Committee Room of City Hall. It is a public forum where anyone can testify. No identification is required to enter the building.
People's Production House is a national media justice organization based in New York City. It provides young people, immigrants, and low-wage workers with a comprehensive education for the information age, combining media production, media literacy and media policy.
Nah We Yone advocates for refugees and asylum seekers from Africa.
For more information please contact Joshua Breitbart at 212-334-7433
