<div dir="ltr"><h1>White space between TV signals could save lives at sea</h1><p><em>BBC News </em>reports: The leftover white space between TV signals is raising the hope of saving lives at sea and providing broadband for remote communities.</p>
<p>"Come in, Solent Coastguard..." It is the third time the coxswain of the Freshwater independent lifeboat, Jeremy Blake, has tried to get through. He is using VHF radio, a technology virtually unchanged for a century.</p>
<p>It was from the cliffs above Freshwater Bay on the Isle of Wight that Guglielmo Marconi first proved that radio could be used for two-way wireless communication with ships at sea.</p><p>In the years since Marconi began his experiments in 1897, marine radio has saved countless lives but is far from perfect.</p>
<p>"Essentially we're using the same technology," says Mr Blake. "It's got smaller and more reliable but we're still limited by line of sight. We can only have one-way communication at a time, and if someone else is talking on the radio that will drown us out if they've got a stronger signal.</p>
<p>"So sometimes we can't communicate. We often have problems when someone is sitting on their radio, and transmitting, and they are blocking out all the other channels."</p><p>'Prime real estate'</p>
<p>That could all be about to change. The lifeboat has been taking part in a trial of a new technology that supporters say could not only save lives but bring superfast broadband to rural communities that so far have been cut off from the information age.</p>
<p>It is called TV white space and takes advantage of unused parts of the spectrum reserved for television transmissions.</p><p>Read the full story with video at: <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-28957172" target="_blank"><br>
<font color="#0066cc"> http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-28957172</font></a></p><p><font size="1">Our thanks to <strong>Stephen G7VFY</strong> for spotting this item</font></p></div>