Deere TV White Space Order Imposes Tough Restrictions, Fletcher Heald Lawyer Says
An FCC order granting Deere a waiver allowing it to install TV white spaces (TVWS) equipment manufactured by Koos on agricultural equipment (see 1603240068) shows that even when lawyers think they have a “regulatory scheme that works,” engineers can come…
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up with a new idea that doesn’t fit, said Mitchell Lazarus, lawyer at Fletcher Heald, Wednesday in a blog post. “Grant of the waiver is subject to 14 specific conditions, and is premised in part on the common-sense observation that waivered devices will be used in rural areas and in large agricultural fields having few broadcasters and widely dispersed TV receivers,” Lazarus wrote. The waiver is effective only in places where at least half the TV channels are available for TVWS use, he said. “That last is bad news because, personally, we were hoping to use the waiver and some TVWS gear to stream the HGTV Channel across the lawn to our suburban John Deere riding mower,” Lazarus deadpanned. “Maybe it’s just as well. The popcorn would bounce all over the place.”