paws -- Protocol to Access White Space database (PAWS)
About paws	English (USA)
As nations struggle to provide spectrum in a finite swath of useful spectrum, especially spectrum for use with wireless Internet bandwidth, there are problems with incumbents in a given band. The incumbents may use the spectrum inefficiently, especially geographically - there may be large swaths of country where a particular band is not used at all, and others where use is only in a portion of the band. Recently, techniques have been developed that attempt to share spectrum between incumbents and new users. The generic term for this is "white space". For example, in over the air TV bands, spectrum is divided into channels, and in any one area, usually not all channels have TV transmitters in range. There is a desire among many regulators to make this prime spectrum available for Internet access and other uses, as long as the new use does not interfere with the existing TV band use. Multiple database(s) are expected to exist which contains the information about available channels for use at a given location. A device is required to query the database for available channels and associated information. There are several scenarios that the US regulation permits which include a simple tower/client arrangement where the tower queries the database on behalf of itself and its client TVBDs as well as ad hoc mobile networks where at least one TVBD in the ad hoc net has another path to the Internet and can query the database with it. This BoF will explore the various aspects of specifying a messaging interface betwen the devices and the database. To see the collection of prior postings to the list, visit the paws Archives.
Using paws
To post a message to all the list members, send email to paws@ietf.org. You can subscribe to the list, or change your existing subscription, in the sections below.
Subscribing to paws
Subscribe to paws by filling out the following form. You will be sent email requesting confirmation, to prevent others from gratuitously subscribing you. This is a private list, which means that the list of members is not available to non-members. Your email address:   Your name (optional):   You may enter a privacy password below. This provides only mild security, but should prevent others from messing with your subscription. Do not use a valuable password as it will occasionally be emailed back to you in cleartext. If you choose not to enter a password, one will be automatically generated for you, and it will be sent to you once you've confirmed your subscription. You can always request a mail-back of your password when you edit your personal options. Once a month, your password will be emailed to you as a reminder. Pick a password:   Reenter password to confirm:   Which language do you prefer to display your messages? English (USA)   Would you like to receive list mail batched in a daily digest? No Yes
paws Subscribers
(The subscribers list is only available to the list members.) Enter your address and password to visit the subscribers list: Address: Password:    To unsubscribe from paws, get a password reminder, or change your subscription options enter your subscription email address: If you leave the field blank, you will be prompted for your email address