Archive notice: This article was originally published on April 9, 2009. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
Vodafone announced a field trial supplying 100 households in Baden-Württemberg with broadband internet over broadcast frequencies under an agreement with the state’s communications authority. It was the first trial intended to connect a rural area without DSL or cable broadband through wireless internet. The system used television white spaces, broadcast frequencies freed by the shutdown of analogue broadcasting.
Experts and policymakers had proposed using this digital dividend to connect rural areas. It was considered particularly relevant in the United States, where large regions lacked coverage, while EU Media Commissioner Viviane Reding had also supported broadcast-spectrum internet for rural service. Vodafone’s trial was an initial implementation step.
“In a technology country such as Germany, there must be no underserved areas. Fast internet access is decisive for the quality of life and economic attractiveness of entire regions,” said Vodafone Germany Managing Director Hartmut Kremling. “Together with LFK Baden-Württemberg, we want to demonstrate that part of the unused broadcast spectrum can contribute to broadband coverage in rural areas.”
Telecommunications operators had raised concerns that wireless internet might interfere with mobile calls, while television broadcasters cited possible interference with digital TV signals. The trial was intended to investigate these issues. “We assume the pilot will allow us to resolve the concerns,” Vodafone spokesperson Margarete Steinhart told pressetext. It would also examine the technology’s performance in hilly terrain, citizen use, and possible effects on DVB-T and DVB-C reception.
The test was initially planned for one year. One hundred households in Bopfingen and Unterschneidheim received terminals free of charge, supporting wireless data rates up to 7.2 Mbps downstream and 1.4 Mbps upstream.
