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Google Launches Campaign To Free White Spaces

Google is trying to rally grassroots support for its plan to use broadband spectrum "white spaces" to provide high-speed wireless Internet access to consumers. "White spaces" refer to unused frequencies in the radio waves portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. The move has been widely opposed by broadcasters and several lawmakers, who fear the plan would interfere with existing signals.

On Monday, Google unveiled a public advocacy campaign to release the white spaces, which includes a Web site, FreeTheAirwaves.com, where users can learn about the issues and get involved. The idea is to rally grassroots support to put pressure on the Federal Communications Commission and members of Congress to release the spectrum for commercial use.

Google is being very clear about its objective: "Google has a clear business interest in expanding access to the web," Minnie Ingersoll, a product manager in Google's alternative access team wrote on the company's official blog. "There's no doubt that if these airwaves are opened up to unlicensed use, more people will be using the Internet. That's certainly good for Google (not to mention many of our industry peers) but we also think that it's good for consumers."

Read the whole story at The New York Times »

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