re Google asks FCC to appoint it a "white space" database admin

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

> From: David Josephson <dlj () josephson com>
> Date: January 6, 2010 7:20:36 PM EST
> To: dave () farber net
> Subject: Re: [IP] re Google asks FCC to appoint it a "white space"  
> database admin

> Dave,
>
> Having watched the "white space" proceedings as a microphone  
> manufacturer (although we don't make wireless mics) and chair of the  
> Audio Engineering Society standards working group on microphones, it  
> has amazed me that such a complex proposal actually got approved.  
> Frankston's and Weinstein's concerns are well taken. A more likely  
> scenario is that since the whitespace rules are so restrictive, no  
> one will deploy devices that even claim to be compliant with them. I  
> know of no device that has been approved by the FCC for production  
> to date. It's almost as if the broadcasters and wireless carriers  
> wanted to be sure there would be no one using this spectrum legally.
>
> I see nothing wrong with having Google be a whitespace database  
> admin, though, assuming that devices can actually be made that  
> comply with the rules. Being a big target for adverse PR is probably  
> a stronger incentive for them to behave fairly than anything that  
> could be devised to keep a smaller organization honest. Also, the  
> FCC requirements for the database pretty much ensure that it's  
> demonstrated to afford equal access. The actual operation of the  
> whitespace database has not yet been defined, so the jury is still  
> out with regard to how it can be operated fairly.
>
> The concern of *who* operates the database is less important than  
> *how* it operates -- and I've seen little coverage of that. Perhaps  
> Google and their cohorts in the "White Spaces Database Working  
> Group" will be forthcoming on that point. It's not going anywhere  
> until someone reduces it to workable practice.
>
> --
> David Josephson



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