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Rural broadband using TV spectrum whitespace

From Ars Technica

The nation's first wireless broadband network operating in unused TV channel "white spaces" is now live in an unlikely spot—Claudville, Virginia.

Claudville is a small place—only 20,000 people live in the entire county, and only 900 in Claudville proper—and its Blue Ridge Mountain terrain has made Internet access hard to come by. Combine that with a countywide per capita income of $15,574 and its not hard to see why the big ISPs haven't rushed to Claudville.

The system is now up and running, and it was praised today by Rep. Boucher at a House press conference. It's still a limited trial, one that uses white spaces as a backhaul network rather than a means to connect homes and business directly to the Internet. "In the future," says Spectrum Bridge, "it is likely that TV white spaces will also be used to expand connectivity within homes and businesses." But until white spaces radios are ready for deployment, the technology works better when linked to ethernet or WiFi.

This idea has been around for a while now and seems to have some potential. The 'unlicenced' part of the equation is probably not impressing companies that DO licence parts of the spectrum.

Maybe this is something that remote rural communities in Australia could use. Seems to be a good way to overcome expensive wired infrastructure and satellite internet.

More information on the trial here.