April 30, 2010

Wireless Internet Moves Into Microphone White Spaces City of Wilmington, N.C. Consultants and contractors are aware that the FCC ruled the 700 MHz band (698 -806MHz) officially off limits to wireless microphones after June 12, 2010. These systems must be retuned or replaced.  Many microphone manufacturers are now directing customers to their systems that operate in the remaining white spaces between the DTV channels (528 - 698 MHz). However, this is likely to be only a temporary solution. The FCC voted unanimously earlier to open the remaining white spaces between TV channels to fixed and mobile internet devices, and implementation is moving forward. CNET News Reports: The city of Wilmington, N.C., and the surrounding county of New Hanover, N.C., are among the first communities to test wireless applications using TV white space technology.... Initially, the network is being used for three main applications. The first application uses traffic cameras at intersections to provide real-time traffic monitoring for the department of transportation to reduce congestion, fuel consumption, travel time, support local law enforcement, and assist with hurricane and disaster evacuations... ...Motorola, Dell, Google, and Microsoft are among the technology companies that have been lobbying for the use of white space spectrum.  (See the full article: http://news.cnet.com/8301-30686_3-10459424-266.html) It should be noted that the city is using the white spaces for "smart-city" infrastructure, not for consumer products. Mayor Bill Saffo is quoted as saying that the white spaces device towers can be separated by miles, rather than blocks apart, reducing costs. Sabine has a solution and it is shipping now. Sabine engineers do not believe that the white spaces will remain a viable spectrum for wireless microphones as smart-city and consumer products come on line. All of our systems sold in North America now operate outside of the UHF white spaces. For example, our SWM6000 True Mobility Wireless System operates in the 902-928 MHz ISM band. This band has enough space for up to 34 clear microphone channels, and it is far out of range from all white space interference.  In addition, the SWM6000 includes rugged metal-cased transmitters, a free channel strip of DSP processing (including Sabine's industry leading FBX Feedback Exterminator), it operates over 8 hours on rechargeable AA NiMH batteries, and it can be controlled by Crestron or AMX. Visit www.Sabine.com for more details about the SWM6000 and our other wireless microphones. Contractors and consultants are invited to contact Sabine to arrange for a full evaluation of the system at CustomerService@Sabine.com. SABINE INC. 13301 NW US Highway 441 Alachua, Florida 32615 USA (386)  418-2000    Fax  (386)  418-2001 WWW.SABINE.COM Email: CustomerService@Sabine.com