First large TV white spaces trial in South Africa: A brief overview

The paper overviews African first of the really large scale trials of television (TV) white space (TVWS) technology and white space devices (WSDs) designed to co-use the frequency spectrum allocated to TV broadcasting. The WSD obtains information about availability of the spectrum in a particular area for a particular period of time from a geolocation spectrum database (GLSD). The GLSD bases its estimations about the availability on stored information about primary users/transmitters in the area, propagation prediction algorithms and local spectrum management regulations. As the overall system is fairly complex and new, extensive testing and trials are required to prove its functionality and compatibility with existing users of the spectrum. Some of the experiences, specifically those from the largest in Africa TVWS trial providing Internet to 10 large schools, held in Tygerberg, South Africa, and conclusions on testing of WSD and use of white space are overviewed.