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/ 10.12.2010 3:00PM
Rice University Professors Win Grant to Build WhiteFi Network
HOUSTON: A working-class Houston neighborhood is targeted
to be a test bed for a new WhiteFi network, according to Ars
Technica. The tech site says three Rice University professors won a
$1.8 million federal grant to expand the University’s WiFi network into
broadcast TV white spaces.
The current WiFi system covers around 1.2 square miles, providing free access
to around 3,000 residents. It was established six years ago by the University
and a local nonprofit,
Ars said. Rice
graduate students created the node technology for the system, which they use to
test “issues related to urban Wi-Fi.” Signal strength is one a major
complaint; hence the endeavor to move into the more efficacious broadcast
spectrum.
One of the professors involved in the project, Dr. Edward Knightly, told
Ars that students also will design custom nodes for the WhiteFi network, because no off-the-shelf gear is
available. The non-profit partner, Technology for All, has a 60-foot tower to
accommodate the nodes, and the team has access to “several tall buildings,” Ars said.
The Houston project is among a handful in the country utilizing unoccupied
broadcast TV spectrum for broadband projects. A hospital in rural Ohio recently
launched a white-space broadband network for telemedicine work. Three
municipalities in Virginia, California and North Carolina have also deployed
white-space broadband networks. Unlike the intended Houston project, however,
those networks either are limited in purpose or in access points. --
Deborah D. McAdams
See...
“Profs bring free ‘Super Wi-Fi to
working-class Houston” in Ars
Technica
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