The National Football League, Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association and NASCAR together with U.S. lawmakers have asked the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to try and hold up the program that allows wireless broadband devices to have access to unused television spectrum. The Sports Technology Alliance, which represents eight major sports organizations and broadcasters, was in conflict with Microsoft, Google and other tech marketers to allow the new broadband devices to use the white spaces (the empty channels in the television spectrum).

The Sports Technology Alliance signed a petition together with FCC as to slow down this allowance. The FCC showed that the white-spaces devices can easily interfere with wireless microphone signals. The alliance stated that the spectrum sensing technology is not ready for prime time. In addition, the ones who proposed the plan failed in demonstrating that the new technology is better than 50% of the time.

 “We therefore request that the commission not authorize the demonstrably unreliable technology of spectrum sensing,” the alliance closed its statement. Also geolocation, another techonolgy, was capable of filling up occupied TV channels during the FCC tests. The alliance added that if the FCC goes forward with the white-spaces plan, there should be a string requirement for wireless broadband devices to use the geolocation.

If the FCC approves the new white-space plan there will be a lot of technological innovations as well as new jobs in the field. Many large tech companies have been fighting for more than two years to convince the FCC to approve the program which will allow the consumers to have a new alternative for broadband services. If approved, the TV spectrum will allow the signal to travel father that any Wi-Fi signal can do.