Mobile and broadband vendor NuRAN Wireless has completed a trial of using TV white space spectrum for wireless backhaul in the Philippines, in collaboration with Globe Telecom.
The companies have been working for the past eight months to test the viability of using UHF spectrum white space for backhaul at various locations in the nation. The trials were conducted in Cebu and Bohol.
TV white space refers to the unused channels between active broadcast channels, originally introduced to prevent broadcasting interference. The telecommunications industry has been exploring using this spectrum to improve wireless connectivity, particularly in rural and remote areas.
NuRAN's TVWS product focuses on spectrum in the 470-MHz to 698-MHz UHF bands.
During the trial NuRAN's equipment achieved speeds of up to 10Mbps over distances of 7km and 12km. The company now plans to commercially launch the technology this year.
“The TV White Space provides us with another means to bridge the digital divide in remote rural areas where traditional means of backhaul such as fiber or multi-hop microwave terrestrial backhaul does not make it economically viable for telecommunication providers to deploy broadband facilities,” Globe senior vice president for technical service design Emmanuel Estrada commented.