Proposal by Microsoft, Google hits a snag

Microsoft Corp. and Google Inc.'s efforts to free some television airwaves for wireless Internet access hit an obstacle after U.S. regulators found problems with the companies' prototype devices.

The products may interfere with broadcast television signals and wireless microphones, the Federal Communications Commission's Office of Engineering and Technology said in a report Tuesday.

The unused airwaves, known as white spaces, have been set aside for television and go empty in several U.S. cities. To get permission to use them, a group of technology companies including Microsoft and Google had to submit devices to be tested this year. The interest in the white spaces sparked a fight with broadcasters such as CBS Corp. and Walt Disney Co.'s ABC unit.

The technology companies "remain confident that unlicensed television spectrum can be used without interference," the coalition, whose other members include Intel Corp. and Dell Inc., said Friday in an e-mailed statement.

"We will work with the Federal Communications Commission to resolve any open questions," so the agency can decide by October whether to allow such uses, the group said.

Sports leagues and wireless microphone makers also oppose the coalition's proposal.

Broadcasters want to keep exclusive rights to the airwaves. Allowing them to be used for other purposes may create interference for the 20 million U.S. households that only receive TV over the air, the companies say.

The FCC's 85-page report found that "the portable, unlicensed devices proposed by high-tech firms can't make the transition from theory to actuality without compromising interference-free television reception," Dennis Wharton, executive vice president of the National Association of Broadcasters, said in a statement.