Wireless Internet service provider Cal.net has rolled out a TV white-space (TVWS) network in El Dorado County, Calif., using equipment from Carlson Wireless Technologies.
TVWS technology makes use of vacant spectrum between TV broadcast channels. The deployment is being dubbed the first independently funded commercial-grade TVWS broadband network in Northern California. The project comprises multiple transmission sites delivering broadband to several hundred subscribers in the county, which is marked by difficult terrain.
"Over 59,000 residents in our rural service area have had little or no quality Internet access," said Cal.net CTO Ken Garnett.
Cal.net built the service using RuralConnect, a TVWS services platform jointly developed by Carlson and Neul.The network is being operated under a Special Temporary Authority (STA) from the FCC. Cal.net and Carlson said they aim to "qualify the potential of TVWS" through the project.
The Jack Russell Brewery in Camino, Calif., is one of the customers using Cal.net's TVWS service. "Video conferencing was smoother than satellite, and I'm not hamstrung by its limitations. I'd highly recommend this to other businesses in rural areas," said David Coody, the brewery's owner.
According to its website, Cal.net also provides DSL service and WiMAX-based wireless Internet service under the Velocity brand.
In October 2009, Spectrum Bridge announced it had designed and deployed the world's first white-space network using an experimental license from the FCC. The world's first commercial white-space network was enabled by Spectrum Bridge during late January 2012 in Wilmington, N.C.
For more:
- see this Carlson release
- see this Ars Technica article
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