Communications of the ACM
German Study Supports Free 'super Wi-Fi'
A study by researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology proposed making additional TV frequencies freely available to the public and companies, rather than auctioning them.
Credit: KIT
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) researchers recently conducted a study proposing that additional TV frequencies should not be marketed but made available to the population and companies at no cost to extend wireless networks instead of using the frequencies for mobile communication.
The researchers want to extend the frequencies for free communication to include lower ranges and even increased transmission power. The researchers note these frequencies are being used less and less for the transmission of TV signals, and they are highly suited for penetrating obstacles such as walls.
"Implementation of our approach would have far-reaching consequences," says KIT researcher Arnd Weber. "Individuals, institutions, and companies would be far less dependent on expensive mobile communications networks in conducting their digital communication. This would also be of great economic benefit."
Still, Weber says a global and broad debate about the approach is needed, since governments also could use the frequencies to extend the range of state-owned TV channels or auction them to mobile telephony providers at high prices.
However, the study's conclusion that low frequency ranges should, as common property, be made available at no cost contradicts an established economic theory represented by economist and Nobel Prize winner Ronald Coase.
From Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
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