FCC shows off spectrum map
Bill Ray, The Register, 3/18 2010
The FCC has launched a beta version of its proposed Spectrum Dashboard, showing who owns which airwaves and where in an easy-to-use format.
The Spectrum Dashboard is part of the FCC’s plan to provide better information about who owns what, and was proposed as part of the National Broadband Plan which went public yesterday – but 24 hours later the service is up and running for those interested in learning who owns what.
One of the objectives of the dashboard was to help citizens understand who’ve bought licences nearby, and the FCC promised the service would allow searching based on particular locations or by names of companies – including the brands under which those companies are normally known, as well as any holding companies that might be minding the spectrum for a better-known brand.
Sure enough, a search of the system for “T-Mobile” shows every licence the operator has in the USA; though given the regional nature of US licences, that makes several hundred before one filters for specific applications.
The service currently only provides data for licences between 225MHz and 3.7GHz, so microwave back haul (which hangs around up the dial from there) isn’t listed as yet. The FCC reckons that it covers the bands that make sense for wireless broadband but intimates that a wider focus will be forthcoming.
But if you’re interested in knowing who paid the government for use of the airwaves around, or just fancy seeing who owns what, then there is now somewhere to look. ®
Related posts:
- CTIA To FCC: Without More Wireless Spectrum, ‘Demand May Outpace Supply’ Tricia Duryee, MocoNews, 9/29/2009 With the FCC cracking down on net neutrality and re-evaluating the country’s broadband plans, the CTIA...
- FCC considering spectrum for free wireless broadband Phil Goldstein, FierceWireless, 3/9/2010 The FCC may release spectrum for “free or very low-cost” wireless broadband service to boost wider...
- Wireless carriers beg FCC for spectrum, blame smartphones Nate Anderson, Ars Techinca,9/26/2009 Mobile carriers in the US have been telling the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for months that...
In: Mobile Technology · Tagged with: FCC, T-Mobile
on March 18, 2010 at 9:48 pm
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FCC shows off spectrum map http://is.gd/aNTy2