Standardization group Ecma International will submit a TV white spaces specification...

called “MAC and PHY for Operation in TV White Space.” A recent Ecma general assembly had “a huge discussion” and a vote, a participant said, resulting in “a very, very narrow decision” to advance the spec for fast track approval. The spec will likely be submitted before July 1, an Ecma participant said. Microsoft, Google, HP, IBM and other companies were opposed, he said. The companies said “the regulatory environment in many, many countries is not clear yet,” he said, but Philips and other companies involved in the technical group pressed for fast track approval. In January, a group of about 10 countries in ISO and the International Electrotechnical Commission welcomed use of the fast track approval process, an Ecma participant said. Broadcasting and defense industry executives participating in ITU-R didn’t immediately respond to e-mail queries. At a June 10 EC workshop on European objectives at WRC-12, Dirk-Oliver von der Emden with the Swiss Federal Office of Communications said conditions for accessing spectrum by cognitive and software defined radios, including white space devices, will likely “need detailed regulation” set down in the radio interface specifications. He said, however, the WRC-12 agenda item on the matter is limited. A European Telecommunication Standardization Institute official at the June 10 workshop said a first draft technical standard will likely be circulated before summer’s end.