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Using the White Space for Digital Inclusion

Authors:
Abdelnasser Abdelal
Aysha Al-Hinai

Keywords: white space; digital inclusion; IEEE 802.11af; broadband policy.

Abstract:
People who do not have Internet access in the world are about 66 percent. These individuals are lagging behind, in the digital sense, due to their remote location, lack of economies of scale, quasi-nomadic nature, and/or low-income. WiFi-based municipal, commercial, and/or Community Wireless Networks have emerged as solutions to provide shared and affordable wireless Internet access to such digitally isolated communities. However, the spectrum used by WiFi (e.g., 2.4 Ghz) is becoming crowded. In addition, the spectrum used by WiMax is regulated in most countries. Therefore, the white space spectrum has emerged as another solution for affordable and shared connectivity solutions. White space refers to spectrum allocated for broadcasting services but not used. This paper provides a brief overview of the white space spectrum, compares it with the WiFi spectrum, outlines key existing projects, suggests a research agenda, and concludes with some policy implications and future work. We hope that this paper brings the attention of the IT community, policymakers, and community activists to the capabilities of white space.

Pages: 151 to 156

Copyright: Copyright (c) IARIA, 2014

Publication date: August 24, 2014

Published in: conference

ISSN: 2308-4278

ISBN: 978-1-61208-353-7

Location: Rome, Italy

Dates: from August 24, 2014 to August 28, 2014