The WhiteSpace Alliance (WSA) announced its core technology, Wi-FAR, has been approved to become an ISO standard. Wi-FAR provides the industry with cost effective internet access through the TV band spectrum, also known as “whitespace,” in frequencies between 54 MHz and 862 MHz.
The new standard is titled ‘ISO/IEC/IEEE Std. 8802-22:2015.’ It will improve the speed of deployment of broadband throughput services to remote and rural areas at a low cost. Each Wi-FAR cell will offer 22-29 Mbps throughput per TV channel and will support up to 512 devices within 10-30 km. This distance allows for “cost-efficient deployment of broadband access and backhaul solutions to regional, rural and remote areas.”
“Saankhya Labs welcomes the recognition of IEEE 802.22 as an ISO Standard. We believe this will accelerate the adoption of Wi-FAR as the de-facto standard for rural broadband connectivity globally. Initiatives such as the Indian government’s “Digital India” program will find this encouraging, as it will aid in formulating policy for spectrum sharing to realize the nation’s socio-economic objectives. ISO standardization will also enhance the competitive landscape, reduce deployment time and cost, and enable technology providers like ourselves to access global markets,” Parag Naik, CEO of Saankhya Labs, a WSA member company, said.
Many believe the new standard will lead to new opportunities and better internet world-wide.
“In conjunction with other WSA member companies, Carlson Wireless plans to deploy this internationally recognized technology to bring affordable and high throughput Internet connectivity to the world. ISO approval should significantly accelerate broad adoption of these solutions,” Jim Carlson, CEO of Carlson Wireless, said.
