Could TV Whitespace Get Real With Microsoft Initiative

Terrain, demographics, trees, hills, politics, and low population density all conspire to block rural residents from getting easy internet access.  Could that be changing? A year ago Microsoft announced its Airband Initiative, an effort to move TV whitespaces from a good idea to a working technology. The project coordinates smaller Internet service providers, manufacturers, and software vendors around the new technology. Some early signs hint at future successes. “At least 100,000 Ohioans who currently have no broadband should become connected thanks to Microsoft and TV whitespace,” says Kyle Quillen, founder and CEO of Agile Networks. He said Microsoft’s efforts eclipse the work of other tech giants to reach rural parts of the United States.  Amazon is focusing broadband work in the United Kingdom and Germany. Google Fiber has stuck to cities, many already mainstays of the digital economy (Seattle, Austin, and Research Triangle Park in North Carolina, for example). Facebook has pilot projects, primarily in developing nations, but members of Congress would like them to do more. Facebook’s effort to serve Africa via satellite literally exploded on the launch pad in 2016.