Nominet UK Launch New Tool to Help TVWS Wireless Networks

The official registry for .UK domain names, Nominet, has launched a new channel availability tool called WaveDB Explore, which enables wireless broadband ISPs that are in the early stages of planning a deployment using TV White Space (TVWS) technology to identify where it will have the most impact.

TVWS has been around for a few short years now and it works by harnessing the gaps that exist between radio spectrum in the Digital Terrestrial TV (DTTV) bands, which in the United Kingdom tend to operate between around 470MHz to 694MHz. Such signals deliver wide coverage (up to around 10-30km) and line-of-sight isn’t a strict requirement, but top speeds currently tend to top out at about 50Mbps (example).

However the spectrum gaps that TVWS uses normally only exist to help minimise the risk of interference between TV channels and so in order to resolve that TVWS systems need to make use of a dynamic spectrum management system (database), which must account for any changes in the TV channel / spectrum assignments.

Nominet specialises in such databases and in that sense their new WaveDB Explore tool is an evolutionary step, which gives wireless ISPs some more options and information for planning their future deployments.

WaveDB Explore Features

* Find real-time channel availability, tailored to different country regulations.

* Quickly and easily visualise network design.

* Search by location (address or coordinates).

* View demographics and broadband availability to assess economic viability.

* Visualise area topography and terrain profile.

* Display coverage maps for TVWS radios.

* Show incumbent information.

Nominet’s Director of Emerging Technology, Adam Leach, said: “Progress in closing the rural broadband gap has slowed in recent years as high costs, the absence of new and alternative technologies, and market and regulatory conditions have hampered efforts to expand coverage. The good news is that the technology has evolved … We hope that WaveDB Explore will help WISPs develop this cost effective and easy-to-implement solution.”