Commission to host another round of white space testing

FCC chairman Kevin Martin said that the commission will release a schedule for another round of white space testing of unlicensed devices this week. New testing, he said, will begin by the end of this month.

The commission is trying to determine whether to allow unlicensed portable devices that use white space spectrum between digital broadcast channels.

The first round of testing showed interference problems, though one of the devices was said to be faulty. Thus, the FCC said it will do a second round of testing.

In the meantime, a public relations war has broken out between parties for and against the use of unlicensed devices. High-tech and computer companies are pushing for the devices, while broadcasters argued that the devices may cause interference with DTV transmissions.