Success in Cape white space trials

NO interference. That was internet services company Google’s verdict after a sixmonth TV white space trial in Cape Town.

The results of the successful trial, unveiled in Pretoria on Friday, showed that the technology could deliver broadband in hard-to-reach areas using vacant channels in the TV broadcast spectrum, all without interfering with TV signals.

Google, along with seven partners, has been testing the tech- nology at 10 schools in Cape Town, an area chosen for its rugged terrain.

Players in the telecoms space are already gearing up to compete for use of the technology, which Arno Hart of the Tertiary Education and Research Network of SA said could be used for “last-mile” connectivity or “super Wi-Fi”.

Last-mile connectivity is an industry term for the part of the network that links customers.

Wi-Fi providers are also eyeing TV white space technology for its ability to transmit wire- less signals over a distance of up to 10km — much further than the distance covered by conventional Wi-Fi.

A representative of the South African Communications Forum, which has telecoms giants Vodacom and MTN among its customers, was at the event to find out how its members could use the technology.

Jens Langenhorst of theWireless Access Providers’ Association, one of Google’s partners in the trial, said its members would be able to boost broadband penetration through TV white spaces. But it appears that telecoms regulator Icasa will take its time drawing up rules for using the technology.

In the US, where Google tested the technology in 2010, it already has “conservative” regulations, while the UK’s regulations are in draft form.

“The trial results constitute a sufficient basis for the initiation of the required regulatory process,” said Ntsibane Ntlatlapa, a manager at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research’s Meraka Institute, another partner in the project.