On Fri, 25 Jul 2008 16:08:32 -0400, Dave Platt wrote:
The quick solution to this is to forbid the use of free-white-space
devices in this frequency range, in those cities where public safety
operations have already been authorized. This won't necessarily solve
the problem, if (for example) a user of such a device brings it from a
"wide open" city into a city with restrictions, and doesn't realize
that s/he has to change the device's mode to stay legal.

They'll probably have to ban them from T-band altogether. But see below.

The pro-audio industry is also up in arms over these whitespace
proposals, as they've been depending for years on Part 15 (or similar)
wireless microphones which operate in the unused TV channel frequencies
..
Having to face competition for these frequencies from a whole bunch of
non-coordinated new "find a 'free' frequency and camp on it" devices
could cause problems for them, to say the least!

One proposal I saw would require wireless-microphone users to transmit a
"beacon" signal at some predetermined location within the TV channel. Th
e
white-space devices would monitor for this beacon.

(both the DTV and analog TV standards essentially already have beacons)

So I suppose you could have the public-safety organizations also transmit
the beacons.

Yes, sometimes I get the impression the pro-audio folks are more upset
about this than the broadcasters.