Top Sports Leagues, Program Network Find Fault With Tech Companies’
“White Spaces”
Proposal
NFL, MLB, NASCAR, NBA, NCAA, NHL, the PGA TOUR, ESPN Call on FCC to
Protect Wireless Microphones
WASHINGTON (Business Wire EON) May 1, 2008 --
The National Football League, Major League Baseball, the National
Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, the National Basketball
Association, the National Hockey League, the National Collegiate
Athletic Association, the PGA Tour, and ESPN today challenged tech
companies’ “white
spaces” proposals, including a “beacon”
plan supported by Google, and asked the Federal Communications
Commission to remain focused on protecting wireless microphones from
interference from new devices operating in the “white
spaces.” In their joint filing, the leagues
and ESPN – as members of the Sports
Technology Alliance – assert that the FCC
must require the technology companies that want to sell wireless white
spaces devices to prove that their devices won’t
interfere with wireless microphones, which already operate in white
spaces.
“We are deeply troubled by the crippling
disruption and harm that portable devices will cause to live sports
events. These devices could knock out wireless communications systems
like headsets used by coaches and officials, microphones used by
referees to announce penalties and calls, and microphones used by
journalists to conduct interviews with athletes and coaches,”
said Ken Kerschbaumer, executive director of the Sports
Video Group, on behalf of the Sports Technology Alliance.
FCC tests should lay the foundation of the FCC’s
decision regarding whether to allow technology companies to sell
wireless white spaces devices. “Now is not
the time,” the Sports Technology Alliance
said in its filing, “for the Commission to be
distracted by proposals that rely on unproven, yet-to-be-developed
technical fixes. Google’s proposal, similar
to a plan earlier offered by Motorola, is particularly unhelpful.”
Noting that each element of Google’s proposal
is “flawed,” the
Alliance states that Google’s plan would
place the burden on existing wireless microphone users, requiring them
to purchase and install “beacons,”
which would jam white space device transmissions. In addition, Google
would have wireless microphone users rely on a few channels for
transmissions and count on spectrum “sensing”
technology for interference protection.
“Not only is the notion of a beacon just that –
a notion -- but beacons are really just another form of spectrum
sensing, which hasn’t been proven to be
reliable yet,” said Kerschbaumer.
If FCC field tests cannot demonstrate a failsafe environment for
incumbent wireless microphones, the FCC must be prepared to rule that
the current state of technology doesn’t
justify moving forward with these white spaces proposals at this time,
according to the filing.
More than 300 wireless microphones are routinely used at large events
like the Super Bowl, the Daytona 500, and the NCAA Basketball
Championship Tournament. “Any interference
caused by wireless white spaces devices would seriously impair US sports
event programming, affecting hundreds of millions of sports fans –
denying them full enjoyment of these events. Without a doubt, sports
fans will be the real losers here if the FCC fails to protect wireless
microphones,” Kerschbaumer said.
ABOUT THE SPORTS TECHNOLOGY ALLIANCE
The Sports Technology Alliance was formed by the Sports Video Group
(SVG) and is comprised of major professional and collegiate U.S. sports
leagues, and major national broadcasters and content distributors,
including the National Football League, Major League Baseball, National
Hockey League, National Basketball Association, National Collegiate
Athletic Association, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing,
PGA Tour and ESPN.
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