Tech IRL: What meerkats have to do with the future of the internet
Tech IRL: What meerkats have to do with the future of the internet
Thanks to white broadcast spaces, you can stream meerkats at the London Zoo:
Or, otters:
Or, even Galapagos tortoises:
White spaces basically consist of the channels not being used by traditional TV, and, like the partnership between Google and the London Zoo illustrates, can be used to transmit other types of information.
What’s interesting about white space waves is that they travel extremely far; the wi-fi in your office starts to slow down when you’re too far from an internet router, but white space waves can travel 6 miles without suffering. It could be used to deliver Internet broadband on the open ocean, or for networks of sensors that can protect cities from natural disasters.
But, the future of white space depends on what the FCC and other regulators decide to do, and whether some of these tests, like the meerkat cameras, prove we can use white spaces without interfering with channels that are already being used.
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