Hi Folks This bodes well for ICT infrastructure in rural areas in developing countries. http://www.engadget.com/2011/07/27/ieee-brings-white-space-internet-one-step... (via http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2812541) "Kudos to the IEEE for rushing this new 'super WiFi<http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/27/microsoft-led-consortium-to-trial-super-wifi-network-across-the/>' standard through so very speedily<http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/24/ieee-begins-work-on-wireless-standards-for-white-spaces-access/>for the sake of rural communities with poor web access. Designated "IEEE 802.22," it promises to bring speeds of up to 22Mbps to devices as far as 60 miles away from the nearest transmitter. How's that possible? Well, the standard carefully exploits swathes of unused white space<http://www.engadget.com/tag/whitespace>within transmission bands that were originally reserved (and jealously guarded<http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/04/nab-throws-down-sues-fcc-over-white-space-internet/>) for analogue TV. These frequencies currently contain nothing but hiss and occasional communications from dead people, but one day they could and * should* be filled with the hopes, aspirations and Facebook updates of country folk who are very much alive. " IEEE 802.22 Working Group on Wireless Regional Area Networks Enabling Rural Broadband Wireless Access Using Cognitive Radio Technology in TV Whitespaceshttp://www.ieee802.org/22/ Best, ashish