Feasibility study for Wi-Fi in the TV whitespaces of Bangalore

Studies carried out across the world have revealed underutilization of the UHF/VHF TV bands. Standards and required equipment to opportunistically harness these TV whitespaces have evolved in recent past. Progress is also being made in India with respect to the study of the TV band spectral occupancies and it potential usage. One of the most attractive uses of TV whitespace in India would be for last mile digital connectivity for rural areas. Fiber has reached up to major parts of taluk levels in India and to extend connectivity to the villages, a technology is needed that is suitable for long distance broadband communication. The VHF/ UHF bands are known for their excellent propagation characteristics. The preferred technology for data communication over this band is called super Wi-Fi defined by standard IEEE 802.11af. However, the potential interference effects of the data transmissions in these bands on any future Digital TV transmission is a matter of concern for licensing authorities. In this paper, we present the feasibility study of data transmission in the TV whitespace. The contributions of the paper are two fold: i). Study of spectral occupancy across the UHF and VHF band in Bangalore. ii) Investigation of interference patterns between digital video transmission and Wi-Fi.