In September of 2007 the general public first heard about "white space" broadband devices via a series of scary television advertisements rolled out by TV broadcaster groups. "Digital television means you can watch your favorite shows with a crystal-clear picture," a narrator promised while generic grandma watched TV. "But if some high-tech companies like Microsoft get their way, your picture could freeze and become unwatchable," the ad warned viewers.

But the engineers at the Federal Communications Commission were a little tougher to scare. Now after four years of regulatory combat between advocates and foes of unlicensed machines that can send and receive broadband through the unused TV bands, the FCC has announced the release of the very first authorized white space gadget. It is made by KTS (Koos Technologies), a wireless device company out of Lake Mary, Florida.

We contacted KTS and got a quick interview with William Koos, president of the firm. No shocker that he's quite happy about the news. "We're very excited about this," Mr. Koos told us. "We've spent the last three years working to make this happen."

More throughput

The authorized model in question is the KTS Agility Data Radio. "The ADR is a software-defined radio that offers unparalleled flexibility," KTS literature promises. "It can access more spectrum and support more throughput than any radio product on the market today."

The black 3.5 x 5.0 x1.4-inch machine weighs almost three quarters of a pound, can take on channel sizes up to 5MHz, and services data rates up to 4Mbps.

Also in the regulatory approval hopper is what Koos described as a "second generation" device: KTS' Agility White Space Radio. That's a heavier and slightly taller waterproof machine that looks like it is rigged for outdoor use. The AWR can run in the UHF and VHF bands or 900MHz zone at data rates of 0.5 to 3.1Mbps. KTS is marketing the machine for video surveillance, supervisory networks, and wireless broadband.

These devices will work in tandem with an FCC authorized database designed to keep track of whether a given TV band is ripe for usage, or is presently being occupied by a broadcaster. The Spectrum Bridge company has won the respective database contract, and can start providing service to devices beginning on January 26. Future white space database managers will include Comsearch, Frequency Finder, Google, KB Enterprises LLC and LS Telcom, Key Bridge Global LLC, Neustar, Telcordia Technologies, and WSdb LLC.

A new wave

But this Spectrum Bridge operation will be restricted to Wilmington, North Carolina region for now. Expansion will be permitted "pending completion and activation of the Commission's facilities for processing requests for protection of unlicensed wireless microphone at event venues," the Commission says.

Wilmington, NC seems to be the FCC go-to place for these sort of preliminary rollouts. It was the first spot in the country to complete the DTV transition. It was also where Spectrum Bridge ran its first white space testbed experiments. Now it is where unlicensed broadband devices get going, for real.

"With today's approval of the first TV white spaces database and device, we are taking an important step towards enabling a new wave of wireless innovation," declared FCC Chair Julius Genachowski on Thursday. "Unleashing white spaces spectrum has the potential to exceed even the many billions of dollars in economic benefit from WiFi, the last significant release of unlicensed spectrum, and drive private investment and job creation."