November 14, 2013
Is Air Free?
You would think that air should be free, but of course air, or at least the right to send signals through it, has not been free for some time. The FCC controls the right to use air to transmit information, divvying the air up into all sorts of frequencies and selling them off to the highest bidder. From a bankruptcy perspective, the right to use the air is well understood as an asset, and can be transferred or even sold under the right conditions. Now, Google has found a way to perhaps muddy the waters (or, perhaps I should way cloud the skies).
This morning, Google announced its new spectrum database to help companies to, well, use unused air. The basic concept is simple. Although the FCC has divided up the electromagnetic spectrum, large portions of the spectrum aren't actually being used. But, identifying what spectrum is available in a particular location presents a challenge - in some cases the spectrum has been allocated to someone so it is subject to use, and might actually be used from time to time and from place to place. Other spectrum exists in the gaps between already allocated spectrum. Google's new product is a database that tracks spectrum intended to carry television signals to identify exactly when and where the spectrum remains unused. This so-called "TV white space" can, once tracked, be re-purposed for other uses. Primarily, network providers can use it to create large public or private Wi-Fi networks. The database essentially provides a source of control over this TV white space to ensure that multiple systems or device networks don't try to operate using the same TV white space. Google provides an API that commercial entities can use to link their systems in with the database to maintain operations. What gives Google the authority to provide this service? Well, they built it and a few months ago the FCC certified them to manage the database - essentially controlling access to TV White Space in the United States.
In short, the FCC has given Google the right to control the little bits and pieces of unused spectrum. This is an interesting kind of asset - the right to control what economists refer to as a common good. Common goods are goods that can't be consumed by more than one person, but you also can't control who comes and consumes them. The classic example is wild fish - there are only so many fish in the sea but anyone can get in a boat and try to catch them. Absent some kind of legal or technical limitation on access, chaos ensues or the good is rapidly depleted. Usually, when controls are placed on common goods, we see the control function vested at the government level, as in the case of commercial fisheries or FCC spectrum licenses. But, with the TV white space, Google will control who has access. In the technology arena, we have already seen a similar structure applied to domain names and IP addresses, mostly controlled by NGOs. We've even seen a sale of a large block of IP addresses in the Nortel bankruptcy case. But, we haven't yet seen an attempt by the American Registry for Internet Numbers or a Regional Internet Registry to sell its rights to control large IP address blocks. I don't expect Google is likely to file a bankruptcy petition anytime soon, but I am curious about how the bankruptcy process might treat a privately held right to control a common good.
This morning, Google announced its new spectrum database to help companies to, well, use unused air. The basic concept is simple. Although the FCC has divided up the electromagnetic spectrum, large portions of the spectrum aren't actually being used. But, identifying what spectrum is available in a particular location presents a challenge - in some cases the spectrum has been allocated to someone so it is subject to use, and might actually be used from time to time and from place to place. Other spectrum exists in the gaps between already allocated spectrum. Google's new product is a database that tracks spectrum intended to carry television signals to identify exactly when and where the spectrum remains unused. This so-called "TV white space" can, once tracked, be re-purposed for other uses. Primarily, network providers can use it to create large public or private Wi-Fi networks. The database essentially provides a source of control over this TV white space to ensure that multiple systems or device networks don't try to operate using the same TV white space. Google provides an API that commercial entities can use to link their systems in with the database to maintain operations. What gives Google the authority to provide this service? Well, they built it and a few months ago the FCC certified them to manage the database - essentially controlling access to TV White Space in the United States.
In short, the FCC has given Google the right to control the little bits and pieces of unused spectrum. This is an interesting kind of asset - the right to control what economists refer to as a common good. Common goods are goods that can't be consumed by more than one person, but you also can't control who comes and consumes them. The classic example is wild fish - there are only so many fish in the sea but anyone can get in a boat and try to catch them. Absent some kind of legal or technical limitation on access, chaos ensues or the good is rapidly depleted. Usually, when controls are placed on common goods, we see the control function vested at the government level, as in the case of commercial fisheries or FCC spectrum licenses. But, with the TV white space, Google will control who has access. In the technology arena, we have already seen a similar structure applied to domain names and IP addresses, mostly controlled by NGOs. We've even seen a sale of a large block of IP addresses in the Nortel bankruptcy case. But, we haven't yet seen an attempt by the American Registry for Internet Numbers or a Regional Internet Registry to sell its rights to control large IP address blocks. I don't expect Google is likely to file a bankruptcy petition anytime soon, but I am curious about how the bankruptcy process might treat a privately held right to control a common good.
Labels: FCC, Google, IP addresses, TV white space
¶ 4:15 PM
