The FCC gave their approval on Tuesday for the use of white space by Wi-Fi devices, allowing manufacturers to start building devices that will make the best use for the vacant DTV channels.

White space generically refers to unused frequencies of the electromagnetic spectrum, and particularly in this case the devices would use 300 MHz to 400 MHz of unlicensed space. It has been known that between occupied frequencies, there has always been some unused space, being there for the sole purpose of protecting the frequencies. Device developers have thought that a device could make the best use of that space without interfering with the used frequencies.

All white space wireless devices will have to operate under the conditions imposed by the FCC, meaning that they should be able to scan the available spectrum of frequencies and be able to geographically locate themselves.

The decision of the FCC encountered some harsh criticism from TV broadcasters, stadium operators and wireless microphone companies, claiming that the use of white space can be dangerous for their services. A device using the white space could interfere with the signal from a wireless microphone, determining the connection to cut out completely.

The FCC announced that it will allow the registering of wireless microphones and other similar gear in the way TV stations currently do. This will allow for no interference of any kind, as the devices using white space would already know all the frequencies that are occupied. The concept behind devices using white space has been proven to work very well, and after the proof of concept was met, the FCC took the right decision to approve it.