Extending Internet Access using White Space

The gap between broadcasting channels, that fuzzy snow-scene you see when tuning a television for the first time, is not dead space but white space and a potential vehicle for sending information that could be used to bring the internet to some of the world’s most remote communities.

White space can be used to provide wireless broadband internet access, like a giant Wi-Fi connection, to mobile devices like tablets and phones. It could also be used as a cheap way of extending fixed-line broadband to places that aren't connected via cable.

“White spaces can be a very useful and very cost effective way of connecting people who otherwise don’t have internet access,” said David Crawford from the Centre of White Space Communications at the UK’s University of Strathclyde, speaking at the European Development Days 2013.

Though initially looked at as a means of bringing the internet to more remote parts of the developed world, where low population density makes expenditure on new infrastructure non-cost effective, white space could also offer solutions for developing countries.

The chunks of unused radio spectrum that act as buffering gaps between the transmissions of television and radio broadcasters, or are simply unused, are already being utilised to extend internet access in the United States.

But less developed countries are looking to exploit the value of white spaces, too. A new programme in Kenya, the Microsoft 4Afrika Initiative, is using television white spaces and units powered by solar energy to bring broadband to remote communities that might not even have electricity.

“In this programme you have schools, health clinics and villages being hooked-up [to the internet]” said Mr Crawford, giving people across the community access to information that was previously far from reach. The benefits are being felt in schools, in the health care system and economically, as farmers are able to check national crop prices before agreeing local sales.

Similarly, the European Commission launched a project in 2011, aiming to develop existing radio technology to ensure an efficient use of frequencies and eventually extend broadband access. COGEU (Cognitive radio systems for efficient sharing of TV white spaces in European context) was funded under the European Commission’s 7th Framework Programme for Research and Development. 

White spaces are a potentially useful means of extending broadband coverage, but they have many other potential uses.

“The use cases and the applications for white space are potentially huge – it depends on your imagination really,” said Mr Crawford. 

As well as connecting remote regions, white space has the potential for linking together any device with another or a central communication point, making it an ideal basis for a number of smart technologies.

For many of the ICT experts that gathered at the EU Dev Days, finding inexpensive internet solutions is particularly important as they consider access a basic right that offers countless opportunities for social and economic development.

“Being on the internet, it’s a kind of human right,” said Leandro Navarro Moldes from the department of Computer Architecture at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya in Spain. 

“Freedom of expression, freedom of communication, all those things happen on the internet,” Mr Navarro Moldes said. “So if we are allowed to talk in the acoustic space for free, we should be able to talk in the digital space nearly for free – for the cost and not for profit.”

You can view an interview with Mr Navarro Moldes on community networks in the ICT & Space group.

This collaborative piece was drafted by Stéfanie Pire and Sarah Simpson with support from the capacity4dev.eu Coordination Team. Image courtesy of Benleto on Flickr.