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back to article Meerkats helped Ofcom unlock White Space spectrum-hopping

A trial at London Zoo has paved the way for Ofcom guidelines on using the unused “White Space” parts of the radio spectrum in the 470 to 790 MHz frequency band. Three webcams were set up: two in the meerkats' home and one in the otters' enclosure. All three were linked to a web server using White Space radio as TVWS – TV White …

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  1. rusk123

    Dynamic Spectrum Allocation

    Reading between the bands here, this is no different from regular spectrum allocation except the range is contentious.

    As we all know, bands are allocated on a fixed basis, by a regulator, which eases administrative burden since you either "own" the spectrum or you don't. But it doesn't necessarily lead to maximum utilisation.

    This technology sets a precedent for "leasing" time slots in spectrum in realtime, and perhaps in the future a more dynamic spectrum marketplace, where bands and slots can be allocated, or even aggregated to suit the best needs of the application!

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  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Simples...

    I welcome our furry Insurance Comparing Overlords/

    2 0 Reply
  3. imanidiot Silver badge

    So I buy some whitespace kit, set it up and all is wonderfull. Then the bar downstairs gets some wireless mics and the theater up the road signs up for some extra channels so all that spectrum is now allocated. Am I now shit out of luck with non-functioning kit?

    2 0 Reply
    1. Steve Todd
      Reply Icon
      FAIL

      An apt handle. Radio gear already knows how to monitor for traffic and switch to a different channel if the current one is busy (it's part of the spec for 5GHz 802.11ac). You think there's only one or a couple of spare frequency slots in white space?

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      1. Anonymous Coward
        Reply Icon
        Anonymous Coward

        "You think there's only one or a couple of spare frequency slots in white space?"

        Well now, that would depend on how much bandwidth you require wouldn't it? HD video could use an entire channel of free space in the TV band all on its own. Put a number of HD broadcast cameras in a single location and that could be it for whitespace in that area.

        "it's part of the spec for 5GHz 802.11ac"

        And we all know how well wifi works in busy locations.

        2 0 Reply
        1. Steve Todd
          Reply Icon
          Stop

          @boltar

          1) DTTV can fit 4 HD streams into a single 8MHz channel.

          2) There are 48 channels allocated to TV at the moment.

          3) There are 10 digital multiplexes in the UK, not all of them working in a given area.

          4) 802.11b/n (the 2.4GHz version most people use) has only 3 distinct channels available, 5GHz has 16 non-overlapping channels available here in Europe.

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      2. imanidiot Silver badge
        Reply Icon

        An apt handle. Radio gear already knows how to monitor for traffic and switch to a different channel if the current one is busy (it's part of the spec for 5GHz 802.11ac). You think there's only one or a couple of spare frequency slots in white space?

        Except that is not how this particular whitespace kit works. It can only opperate in bands it KNOWS to be free beforehand from its location and some sort of database of registered/licensed users. So if that particular area has most or all bands allocated for registered use, no matter if they are ACTUALLY used my kit would just sit there and do nothing. We are not talking GHz kit here (which has much more bandwidth available to begin with) but the 470 to 490 MHz band which has a lot of users already.

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        1. Steve Todd
          Reply Icon

          Actually it does both. It has a list of frequencies for a given area, then it looks out for unlicensed kit working on the same channel and hops about to reduce interference with that. As it's highly improbable that all 48 channels (or even close to that number) will be licensed in a given area then it's a non-issue.

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  4. WraithCadmus

    Forget the meerkats

    The baby otters were much cuter.

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  5. Manolo
    FAIL

    Live feeds?

    "But live feeds of these animals from London Zoo are part of an innovative trial of a new technology called ‘TV white spaces’."

    Uhm, let me see, it's a quarter past ten in the evening here in continental Europe, which means it's a quarter past nine in the UK. The meerkats are basking in the sun. Live feed my furry arse!

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    1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge
      Reply Icon

      Re: Live feeds?

      "Uhm, let me see, it's a quarter past ten in the evening here in continental Europe, which means it's a quarter past nine in the UK. The meerkats are basking in the sun. Live feed my furry arse!"

      Someone forgot to paste in the disclaimer about replays of daylight video during periods of darkness. If you turn your screen off you will the actual live night time feed.

      1 0 Reply
      1. Sarah Balfour
        Reply Icon

        Re: Live feeds?

        It's also February*. Yesterday, in this corner of Blighty at least, it chucked a fortnight's-worth of rain at us in less than 24hrs. My corner of Blighty ain't too far from London Zoo so, if it was raining here…

        *says she, stating the bleedin' feckin' obvious.

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      2. Manolo
        Reply Icon

        Re: Live feeds?

        Well, you poor Brits... Still dark at eleven in the morning? It's noon here and I still get the exact same clips of the otters and meerkats.

        0 0 Reply
  6. Mage Silver badge
    Mushroom

    Madness.

    Can't Ofcom be sued for incompetence?

    0 0 Reply

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