TV White Space (TVWS) May Be Set to Bridge the Digital Divide. But What Does It Mean to Us in Real Terms?

You may have heard or read recently about TVWS technology uses and how it will bridge the global digital divide. Indeed, there has been much excitement from organizations such as Connect Americans Now about how this innovation will benefit the 42 million U.S. citizens lacking reliable broadband.

Many people may not have heard of TVWS, and even fewer will understand what it means in real terms and how well it performs in Non-line-of-sight. Below are a few ways this technology can benefit us practically.

 

Rural & Remote Internet Accessibility

The effects of the global pandemic mean that many more people than before rely on the internet to conduct work and daily activities. However, broadband providers struggle to find cost-effective and profitable solutions in these areas.

As a result, rural communities have suffered in the past from a lack of reliable broadband. Research and Market recently produced a report that shows a 54% CAGR post Covid-19 in remote and rural communities. If you live, work, or travel in rural locations, TVWS could greatly improve your online experience.  Some companies have developed innovative ways to deliver data to people  machines even in the most remote locations, even when there is no grid power.

 

Industry 4.0

Office working and daily social activities are not the only things transformed by the internet and digital technology. The resources, energy and manufacturing industries are going through what experts call the 4th Industrial Revolution, also known as Industry 4.0. The ways we extract resources, produce, store, and ship goods are becoming more internet dependent. Consequently, industry needs real-time connectivity where resources are extracted, even in the most rural and remote locations. TVWS delivers Industry 4.0 and IoT connectivity where other systems are cost prohibitive, and technology can fail.

 

Internet of Things (IoT)

One of the challenges of the IoT was always going to be bandwidth – how can you run your smart home and all your appliances when the network is patchy? In recent proceedings of the 19th USENIX Symposium on Network Systems and Design Implementation, Microsoft has recognized these challenges and is working on IoT in the TV White Space Spectrum.  Therefore, your smart home can always remain “switched-on” to your needs regardless of location or number of shared users.

 

Summary

Of course, there are many more uses for TVWS technology, and we will delve into these in future articles. However, these three main uses of TVWS prove there are considerable benefits to adopting this technology, to connect the unconnected.