Pro Sound Web: The much-discussed auction of the 600 MHz frequency band is happening in the U.S., and it may well affect present wireless systems as well as related issues such as frequency planning/coordination.
It’s important for everyone who works with creating the content that will stream on the mobile devices when the spectrum is cleared to understand the present situation and to be planning for the transition to different frequency bands.
2 comments:
The thing that concerned me most about this particular issue was that I feared that event sound companies and manufacturers would not have nearly enough money to be able to influence this bidding process, which I'm really glad to hear hasn't been the truth up this point. The fact that Sennheiser even has an advisor on U.S. Spectrum Affairs is incredibly comforting, because without people working from the perspective of the sound production companies to make sure that wireless pro audio is still a possibility at all without a total monopoly on this particular spectrum from the massive wireless phone and internet service providers. It's also quite comforting to hear that the worst case scenarios have not yet panned out. I feel like before this issue started developing everyone was screaming doomsday as the day approached when the bidding process would begin, and it seems as though we wont necessarily have a sound doomsday! Yay!
This is an issue I've been watching from afar for some time. It is definitely of interest, partially because it seems sort of crazy that the government keeps changing the rules and ownership of the airspace, sometimes messing up certain industries. It's frustrating how little consideration seems to be given to the industry from the FCC. It can be limiting technology and hurting the industry, especially because people don't know what may happen (and if tons of gear will become "illegal" again). Because of this, I’m glad to hear that at least the big companies are giving their input in a formal way. I also wonder if these limitations have prompted more efforts to develop newer technology, such as low-latency digital signal transmission, which we are starting to see more of (though I haven’t encountered any of this tech being used in real life). I hope that the manufacturers are able to effectively advocate for the importance of wireless microphone and transmitter devices so that the live sound industry can continue to use such equipment.
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