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Google's white spaces database trial about to start. Wireless network coming?


Jim Feeley

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Pretty soon, things might get a bit more crowded around here.

 

From Ars Technica:

 

"[The 45-day trial of Google's white spaces database] doesn't necessarily signal that Google itself is on the cusp of creating wireless networks using white spaces spectrum, although it could. Google has already become an Internet service provider with Google Fiber in Kansas City and has offered free public Wi-Fi in a small part of New York City and Mountain View.

 

"This has nothing to do with Google creating a wireless network, though Google is interested in the business and could, potentially, create a white space network on down the line," Steven Crowley, a wireless engineer who blogs about the FCC, wrote in an e-mail."

 

The not-too-long article:

http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/02/googles-white-spaces-database-goes-live-in-test-next-week/

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I don't think this is evidence of Google's imminent takeover of white spaces. In fact, I think this is a relatively useful tool. It isn't the first spectrum database, but it is pretty easy to use with a fairly intuitive browser-based interface. That said, it is Google, so who knows.

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Can anyone clarify the difference between a "whitespace database manager" and a frequency coordinator? Do I contact both for location clearance? I also don't understand the process for submitting an itinerent license at least 30 days in advance for specific locations. 

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ALERT TO ALL WIRELESS MICROPHONE USERS!

 

The third and fourth White Space Database trials are in Progress now!  Google started its trial last Monday, March 4th, and Key Bridge’s trial begins today, March 11th.

 

Though not required, ALL users of wireless mics in the UHF Spectrum (486 to 698 MHz) should definitely participate in these trials. This is our one chance to offer immediate feedback to the Database Administrators as to the ease of use and quality of their User Interface.  Provisions have been made to protect professional wireless mic users, but it is important that we show up for these trials.

 

The trials allow for Licensed and Unlicensed registration of wireless devices.

 

Registering your transmitters as an Unlicensed User should point out immediately, that you should obtain your license as soon as possible, as Licensed Users have higher priority for reservations.  Easy to follow instructions, and other useful info can be found at:

 

www.695.com/fcc     (This is a public access site, supported by IATSE Local 695, open to the public.)

 

If you have questions during the registration process, address them to the database administrator directly. Lastly, it is imperative that you use the feedback capabilities of the test. THE QUANTITY OF RESPONSES WILL BE MEASURED BY THE FCC, AND IT IS IMPORTANT THAT WE (as Licensed and Unlicensed wireless mic users in the entertainment industry) BE NOTICED BY THE FCC. After the first trial, a significant percentage of the user responses were licensed users in the entertainment industry, let’s swamp ‘em this time.

 

Editorial Comment: There are two trials taking place, you may choose to participate in one or both.   Google, has spent zero time and effort in developing a User Interface for their database, and is re-using the UI developed by Spectrum Bridge (which in my opinion was pretty good…).  Key Bridge has developed the most comprehensive and easy to use UI to date.  Two years ago, when I contacted all ten of the perspective database administrators, I received no response from info giants Google and Microsoft, whereas the top technical management of Spectrum Bridge and Telcordia immediately responded, to find out how to best accommodate wireless users in the entertainment industry.  Key Bridge went even further, and their top tech and CEO spent hours on the phone with me, over several days in order to make sure that their system and UI were appropriate for our needs. Their UI is magnificent, and with a little poking around, it will guide you through the process, and like any well designed database UI, it makes it difficult to make a mistake.  I urge you to visit both, in order to compare UIs.

 

Google:

http://www.google.org/spectrum/whitespace/register/index.html

 

Key Bridge:

https://whitespace.keybridgeglobal.com/index.xhtml

 

When all ten Database Administrators have completed their trials and go on-line, users will choose one to register with…

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So folks, how is this different that the Spectrum Bridge registration for LPA users (still in effect)?   Should I do both?

 

Later:  I registered myself and call sign @ https://whitespace.keybridgeglobal.com.  I did the reg for the location jobs I have in the next few days, all local SF area.  First thing I noticed--in the areas I'll be shooting (mostly Silicon Valley) I could only register for TV 22-24 and 26 (and TV 23 in only one of the locations), as well as TV 3 and 4.  This is both the zone "reserved" for unlicensed LPA users AND the additional zones avail to licensees.    In Lectro block-speak this means most of Block 20 and a slice of Block 21.  Only.  (But my old letter band Comteks are sort of legal--yay!)  There are no Lectro blocks for TV 3 and 4 that I know of.   So is this the back door method of Google etc telling us that ALL the rest of the TV bands/blocks are now illegal for us to use, license or no?  Or that you can expect to be blown off the air or chased by a black helicopter if you use them?

 

Calling Mr. Ruck....

 

Still later:  out of curiosity, I went to the Google site, which as Jay said, is exactly the same as the Spectrum Bridge reg site--it even already knew my info to fill in the fields.  As with Spectrum Bridge and UNLIKE the KeyBridge site I could register any TV channel I wanted to, as I have been since the SpectrumBridge site went live.   What does this mean?

 

philp

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@Phil - I had similar experiences with the Key Bridge UI, and immediately sent a note to them for an explanation. Many of the channels I wanted to register were marked (one has to rollover the "x" in the channel) already registered. I have a notion, though, that the KB UI is actually connected to the database that is up and running. I believe that both Telcordia and Spectrum Bridge are now certified to enter protected entity data into the national database. I registered my studio location several months ago via SB, and it may be possible that I was bumping into myself. My registration with SB was on the actual database, and it is possible that KB's trial is actually communicating with the active database, which none of the previous trials were able to do. What is important is that we communicate with KB during the trial in order to fine tune their UI. I have the KB's CEO's email and phone number, but I think it is critical that communication and problem solving be done through the feedback mechanism in the UI - therefore becoming part of the FCC official review. I have a plan, stated in the note to Richard below...

 

 

@Richard,

 

This is a singular opportunity for you, and everybody else who is paying attention, to directly affect a system that you will have to use for the rest of your career. In order to use the UHF White Spaces, the info giants accepted the FCC’s mandate to protect primary and secondary broadcasters from interference. In order to accomplish this, a national database is being maintained to log the times and places primary and secondary transmitters will be in operation. There will be ten portals, and each must have a trial run. The purpose of these trials is to test technical reliability, and to test the ease of use by the protected entitiesThe FCC is watching this process very closely, and the quantity and  content of the feedback notes sent to a portal during their trial will be recognized by the FCC in their decision making process.  My own experience, during the first two trials (Spectrum Bridge and Telcordia) was that suggestions about refining the User Interface made early in the trial, were integrated into the UIs almost immediately.

 

If you find some thing difficult, the portal admin will try to change it - but only if you register and go through the process.

 

There are two company’s trials running as I write, and they are almost polar opposites in my view.  Google, which has millions invested in the development of white space devices, has a vested interest in designing interfaces for the white space devices themselves. They want to allow their products to be able to access the white spaces a quickly as possible, 24/7. When it came to offering a UI for protected entities, this software giant arranged to re-use Spectrum Bridge’s UI (certainly a functional UI – thank you folks at SB, if Google you enough, it will probably buy you...).  Key Bridge, whose trial started yesterday, is a small, high end database management group, whose commitment to making it easy for the protected entity is evident in the time and thought put into their UI. (In all fairness, Telcordia and Spectrum Bridge’s UIs were good beginnings…)

 

I suggest this:

 

All licensed (a protected entity) and un-licensed wireless microphone users that read this forum, go to the Key Bridge portal, register, go through the process (be prepared to know the geographical coordinates (degrees, minutes, seconds) of where you want to register (your stages, your shop, etc. – this is just a test…), and then …

 

Write the main points of your feedback on this thread.

 

In two or three weeks, we will all copy the list of main points into our personal responses to Key Bridge. In the FCC’s eyes, a significant percentage of the official responses to the trial will be us (if not a majority – last trial over a third of the responses were part 74 licensees who got their licenses via jwsoundgroup and 695 – and many more of us have received licenses since then.), and the FCC will have heard our voice.

 

So I vote for the 1040 as more difficult - the IRS has no intention of listening to our feedback….

 

Jay Patterson, CAS

VP IATSE Local 695

Chairman, Local 695 Technical Trends Committee

WQNJ498

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So far the Key Bridge UI is failing to locate my FCC call sign. So for now a good start would be for them to populate current Broadcast Auxiliary Low Power license holder's information into the system. I will send them notification that the system is not retrieving my information, but until something changes I am limited to DEMO use.

 

AutoCompletion Failing:

 

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Regarding Key Bridge:

 

Another thing I would say is that if we are going to be required to submit coordinates of use (longitude and latitude) then they need to provide a system that will calculate those coordinates for us when we populate their system with address field. It's not going to get much use if the capability to use it requires multiple website logins and lots of work.

 

And what happens when we are on location and perform a spontaneous company move (Reality / ENG / Documentary work)? Perhaps they need to invest in an iDevice / mobile application with an incredibly easy user interface if they actually want people to use this system?

 

Have to leave for a shoot now, but I'll try the Google portal as soon as I have time.

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I registered on both. The Key Bridge was not easy to navigate at all. I guess Jay, you have lots of patience with the form. I still say doing my taxes and a visit to the dentist are far easier than this exercise with Key Bridge.

 

As I asked earlier I only registered using my business address as I will be in multiple locations each day over the next two weeks. I have no idea if this is helping or hindering the registration process.

 

However, I am licensed so I have the right to complain to the FCC if I get stepped on by the White Space Pirates (Google, Microsoft etc.)

 

You helped us all enormously when we began to apply, now we need tutorials on how to navigate the White space testing registration process.

 

It's time for you to set up your own YouTube Channel, with a show and tell.

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The KeyBridge didn't work as well for me as the Spectrum Bridge site, but maybe I'm just used to it.  Both sites can register locations by street address, there is a clickable text to do that.  Richard, when I have multiple locs I just register all the addresses separately insofar as I know them.  A pain.  Jay I don't think I'm bumping into myself on KeyBridge, since I've been registering in Spectrum Bridge for only the exact days and locs I've been using--ie usually just a single day that expires, and I'm also registering for some sites I haven't been to before.  So far the site has locked me out of anything but the reserved unlicensed Aux bands and a few others adjacent, even when entering my call sign.

 

philp

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I asked Key Bridge about being locked out of certain channels that I am licensed for and here is their reply:

 

 

ShortDescription
Channel selection

(Wed Mar 13 20:09:42 EDT 2013)
There are channels which I am licensed for but unable to select in this registration. Why not?

jesse@caulfield.org (Fri Mar 15 01:40:21 EDT 2013)
Hello,

Per FCC guidance only channels that are available for reservation at your location may be presented. Our system calculates the available channels for you based upon your location of interest. Availability is not be blocked by other wireless microphones as they are co-equal, but channels that are occupied by a television station or other primary user are not available for reservation by wireless microphones.

This has the practical effect of reducing duplicative protections as the area of interest is already not available for unlicensed use.

 

 

Does this answer your question?

Please visit our Spectrum Explorer application for a detailed survey of channel occupancy at your location of interest.

https://whitespace.keybridgeglobal.com/content/explore/spectrum/index.xhtml?autoLocate=true

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Managed to get the Sound's Good workshop registered at both, though Google's interface was vastly superior.

 

Keybridge evidently allows registration of only one block at a time, and it's not clear where to click in order to engage the check mark for the block you wish to register [hint, it's to the right of the Block numbers]. Checking a second block eliminates the first, so yeah, I guess one at a time. The list of available blocks took a long time to populate.

 

Nothing much to say about the Google (Spectrum Bridge) portal since it was easy. Uncertain as to the difference between 'Point' and 'Quadrilateral' that appear to be important since you can't change once chosen but I guess you could start fresh... Adding the permanent URL link to my bookmarks bar seemed wise. Miss not having a receipt for registration handy.

 

Plan to revel in the good feeling of being a 'Protected Entity' as long as I can :)

 

Onward!

 

Thanks for staying on top of all this Richard and Jay, and all those who have also helped test.

 

Alex, I managed to get out of demo mode by starting fresh (account-->manage-->wireless service) and having added a new Aux LP Station, went back and deleted the 'Demo'.

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