Former Corante blogger (and FOD) Steve Stroh has the goods this month on Aloha Networks, which is aiming to provide wireless broadband service in the 700 MHz spectrum area. (That's the high 50s on your UHF dial.)

Apparently, they've gotten FCC approval to test their services in Tucson. The real test is whether this lives-and-plays with existing users, and Tucson currently has TV at Channel 58.

What exactly does this mean? (FOD means Friend Of Dana, of course.)

Let Steve explain:

If Aloha Partners can operationally demonstrate a lack of interference to legacy television broadcast operations in auctioned 700 MHz spectrum, the various 700 MHz spectrum owners could commence new services such as (Fixed and mobile) Broadband Wireless Internet Access very soon rather than waiting indefinitely for legacy television broadcasting to cease operations in auctioned 700 MHz spectrum.

What this means is very cool. Currently-unused TV channels can be turned into broadband Internet services right away, without waiting for those frequencies to clear off to thei digital TV wasteland beyond.

Two more important points from Steve:

1. Aloha is buying the second and third largest owners of 700 MHz spectrum in the US, giving them spectrum in the top ten urban markets and "84% of the top forty".

2. Aloha intends to use Flarion FLASH OFDM systems delivering both voice-and-data service.

Why should you care about this? Think about the nature of waves. The lower the frequency, the further waves can travel before dieing-off (the exact word here is attenuating). The 802.11 frequencies start around 2.4 GHz. This is 700 MHz. (That's lower, ain't it?) Each antenna will cover a lot more area, thus you have lower cost deployment.

This is vital in delivering competition to the Bells outside urban areas. That's a double-edged regulatory sword. Conrad Burns of Montana is opposing the latest telecom mergers to protect small rural co-ops, which have monopolies in their own areas but are dependent on the Bells for backhaul. A 700 MHz system offers an alternative for that backhaul, but it also means competition for local customers.

The picture below, from Flarion, describes how all this works.