Interesting 700MHz Band Physics
Bloody battles have been waged here and abroad by operators and regulators on the proper use and allotment of the airwaves. The right to use a particular frequency band is particularly sensitive because only one operator can use the said frequency band to prevent interference. Therefore, literally chunks of the sky have been chopped up by regulators and assigned to different operators. Each operator in turn pays a right-to-use fee (something like a license to use) and can get exclusive rights to those frequency bands for particular geographies.
The United States government is set to reclaim the 700MHz from free TV broadcasters by 2009. This means a significant amount of frequency would be made available in the auction block. Why is 700MHz special? Here is a nice article from GigaOM on the plans of the US government.
The spectrum, currently owned by broadcasters, has been used for analog television. But it is set to be turned over to the government in 2009. Due to its broadcast-attractive physics (like its ability to penetrate walls), this spectrum is desirable for both broadband communications in general and public-safety uses in particular.
The FCC has described the 700 MHz as beachfront property, and has talked up the broadband capabilities of this spectrum swath. About 60 MHz of the former UHF (TV) spectrum is going to be reclaimed by the U.S. government and will be reallocated for public safety and commercial broadband networks. The TV channels using this spectrum are going to go dark on Feb. 19, 2009, if all continues as planned.
Yep. You have heard it from the FCC itself. The 700MHz frequency band is prime air real estate. This is because the 700MHz has interesting physics. Looking back at our high school physics, the lower the frequency the further away from visible light it is. The higher the frequency the closer to visible light it is. Visible light is blocked by opaque obstructions right? Right! Therefore, the higher the frequency the signal become the more prone it is to opaque object obstructions. So, the 2100MHz 3GSM band is more prone to blockage than the to be freed up 700MHz UHF band. Yes. 700MHz signals can pass through walls! (Well, can pass through walls better at least).
Above is a diagram on the potential economic benefits of using the 700MHz bands as compared to other bands currently in use for mobile communications. It is obvious that operating a network with the 700MHz is definitely cheaper. In the Philippines, I do not think we have a lot UHF tenants on the 700MHz range. Why not kick them out and give us pervasive Mobile TV!
