April 1, 2011 
WOW!!! I am going to be crushed if this is an April Fool’s joke. Microsoft and Noiki’s new partnership is going to produce a phone that uses the White Space! Daily Wireless has the scoop: “Nokia and Microsoft are expected to officially announce the new white space initiative in Brussels, Belgium, this June, where they will demonstrate phones and tablets based on the new system.
Microsoft and Nokia are expected to utilize small, WiFi-like access points, expected to cost $250-$500 dollars, rather than cell towers that can cost $250,000. Local access points, using unused television frequencies, penetrate indoors better and can have a range similar to PCS cellular radios – approximately 1-3 miles.
Multiple 6 MHz wide channels will be automatically ganged together in this new system, delivering an effective 2-12 Mbps for end users. Using TD-based LTE or WiMAX radios, with a software defined front end, the Nokia/Microsoft access points connect to the internet directly — like WiFi access points. The phones use VoIP software, similar to Skype, jointly developed by Nokia and Microsoft.
According to some industry observers, the impact of white space phones on today’s two trillion dollar telecommunications industry may be significant. White space phones will not need today’s infrastructure and licensed spectrum. They will not be dependent on phone companies.”
To say this is going to have a dramatic impact on telecommunications is the understatement of the year. I first started thinking about this when Apple announced they were working with Gemalto on a “multi-mode” phone that users could activate on the network of their choice.
Trackbacks/Pingbacks
[...] FCC cleared the White Space for use back in the Fall of 2010 but its been slow going getting to a consumer ready [...]
[...] the hopes of White Space routers and even White Space phones may be dashed o the rocks of paid off politicians – outside its [...]