Microsoft Wants To Beam Internet Over Unused TV Frequencies

Microsoft is going to announce its plans to beam broadband internet over unused channels of television spectrum today. This white space internet service is going to utilize the unused spectrum between those channels of TV spectrum to broadcast internet service. Some of you may not recall that there was a time when TV signals floated through the air to deliver content across the length and breadth of the United States.

Microsoft is going to invest $10 billion in its initiative to launch a white space broadband service in 12 states, including New York. This service will connect an estimated two million people in the country to the internet.

The company hasn’t clarified at this point in time how much it’s going to charge customers who sign up for this service. Customers will be required to buy special receivers that can turn the white space signal into Wi-Fi.

The hardware for the home will initially cost around $1,000 but the company says that this cost will be reduced to $200 per unit by next year. Microsoft has also said that the service will be “price competitive” with conventional cable internet.

The company hopes that its white space broadband service will connect over 2 million people to the internet by 2022.

The official announcement will be made later today at a hotel just a few blocks away from the White House. It’s the same place where Alexander Graham Bell demonstrated coast-to-coast telephone calls decades ago.

Adnan Farooqui
Categories: General
Tags: broadband, Microsoft, _cool