Niles, IL - Jul 24, 2008 - In response to the FCC's Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) announcement that it will conduct field tests of prototype white spaces devices, including tests at a sports and an entertainment venue, several large-scale productions and events have offered their locations for these tests.

In a letter dated July 8, Louis Libin, president of Broad-Comm and chairman of POLCOMM2008, which coordinates the wireless microphone frequencies during the Democrat and Republican national conventions, wrote, "We believe these conventions would provide a perfect opportunity to conduct further testing regarding the efficacy of these devices. It would provide a real experiment during an event that employs hundreds of wireless microphones and frequencies."

Daryl Friedman, vice president, advocacy and government relations, for The Recording Academy (NARAS), wrote a letter dated July 17, stating, "We firmly believe that the Commission should move with extreme caution before approving any new portable device operations in the TV band. We would be happy to help coordinate an FCC visit to the Lollapalooza Festival in Chicago on Aug. 1."

Most recently, Don Lepore, producer of NBC's Nashville Star, expressed his concern regarding new devices in the white spaces and invited the OET to come to Nashville, writing, "To put it in its simplest form, the perception that there is significant fallow white spaces in cities like Nashville is just wrong. Nashville Star wants to extend its expertise and facilities to the Commission as it sets forth to execute the Commission's testing plans at an entertainment venue."

The FCC recently began field testing, which is open to the public and will take place over a four-week period with specific dates, times, and locations being updated regularly at this link.