Dell this week said it’ll build into PCs the ability to connect wirelessly to the Net over so-called white space spectrum. It didn’t take Dell long after Tuesday’s FCC decision to approve the use of white space spectrum to make the announcement. Dell did not say when the products would come to market. Other makers of PCs, mobile phones, home network gear and portable devices are expected to follow Dell’s lead.
Google led the white space brigade that included, in addition to Dell, Intel, HP, Microsoft and Philips. All have a massive interest in promoting affordable consumer access to broadband to boost their products and services.
White space partisans, including FCC chairman Kevin Martin, say the white space spectrum can be like Wi-Fi on steroids. It has a larger geographical coverage area than Wi-Fi, for starters, and is expected to go through walls better than Wi-Fi.
“We intend to integrate white-space radios into future Dell products,” said Neeraj Srivastava, Dell’s director of technology policy. He said the company is considering using white space radio chips in laptops, netbooks and other devices that provide wireless network access.
White space radio chips will be small enough to be used in smartphones, he said. He said that from a design standpoint the size of the white space radio will impose no constraints on the device it can be added to.
Dell said white-space spectrum could be used for wireless gaming needs within a home, as well as downloading content into cars. It sees it as complimentary to Wi-Fi, not competitive.
Srivastava said that using white space for wireless broadband could eliminate many of the problems that Wi-Fi encounters, such as limited bandwidth, limited range, difficulty penetrating walls and interference. It could, he said, do a better job than Wi-Fi for streaming video.