Google co-founder pushes TV 'white space' plan

By Peter Kaplan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Google Inc co-founder Larry Page was in Washington on Thursday to promote the company's proposal for a new generation of wireless devices to operate on soon-to-be-vacant television airwaves.

Page was scheduled to meet with lawmakers in Congress and officials at the Federal Communications Commission hoping to convince them to allow the "white space" between television channels to be accessed by low-power wireless devices.

"I think it will make a huge difference to everybody," Page said during a morning appearance at a Washington think tank.

Page highlighted the benefits of making more spectrum available, while downplaying opposition from broadcasters, and makers and users of wireless microphones, who fear the wireless devices would cause interference.

"I think the debate's really been politicized," Page said.

Page said making more spectrum available would benefit computer users, giving them Internet connections with greater range and speed.

He said it would also benefit Google itself.

"If we have 10 percent better connectivity in the U.S., we get 10 percent more revenue in the U.S., and those are big numbers for us," Page said.