Method and system enabling use of white space radio spectrum using digital broadcast signals

A system of dynamic allocation of spectrum for a communication device where a UHF band is currently unused for licensed television broadcasting, comprising:

• a transceiver;
• and
• a processor coupled to the transceiver, wherein the processor is operable to:
• determine a location of a user device using GPS or other signals received at the user device using signal strength or time distance of arrival of those signals;
• determine which UHF television broadcast channels are available for use by the user device for white space reception for a given location based on the location of the user device, polygon endpoints defining a location of usable reception of the television broadcast, and signal strength measurements for co-channel and adjacent channels;
• determine a maximum allowed transmission power for a given channel based on signal strength for the given channel and on adjacent channels;
• and
• transmit the maximum allowed transmission power and location by the user device to a remote server for sharing information with other devices.

A method of dynamic allocation of spectrum for a communication device where a UHF band is currently unused for licensed television broadcasting, comprising the steps of:

• determining a location of a user device using GPS or other signals received at the user device using signal strength or time distance of arrival of digital television signals;
• receiving data defining polygon endpoints from a television broadcast defining the location of usable reception of the television broadcast;
• determining a maximum allowed transmission power for a given channel based on signal strength for the given channel and on adjacent channels;
• and
• determining which UHF television broadcast channels are available for use for white space reception by the user device for a given location based on the location of the user device, the polygon endpoints, and signal strength measurements for co-channel and adjacent channels.