Cambridge Consultants (CCL) has developed radio hardware and software for US 'white space' spectrum, where local gaps in the band must be identified before transmission can begin.
Left over from the US analogue switch off, the 100MHz-wide 700MHz band has been turned over to licence-free use, although it still contains licensed users - wireless microphones, for example.
"The FCC [Federal Communications Commission] realised that unlicensed spectrum is a real driver for innovation," CCL business development manager Luke D'Arcy told EW. "700MHz goes three to four times further than 2.4GHz on the same power, including penetrating walls."
The deal is that unlicensed users must sniff the airwaves and avoid any nearby user in the available spectrum.
A second, higher power, class of unlicensed user must do the same, as well as accessing a internet-based geographical database to find local no-go sub-bands before 700MHz transmission.
"Spectrum sensing is quite difficult as many technologies transmit below the noise floor and still work," said D'Arcy.
CCL's radio is called InCogneto.
Although the firm will not disclose how its solution scans for white space, D'Arcy said the techniques are based on knowledge gained on military and Government contracts.
"We don't just measure the power at each frequency. You have to be a lot smarter than that to find the weaker signals," he said.
In the transmit side, the firm is using OFDM for transmission in the 8MHz channels that are a legacy of TV use, and can pair these to create a 16MHz channel.
According to D'Arcy, one possible use for such radios is in set-top boxes that transmit cable-derived TV programmes to multiple digital broadcast TVs in a household.
"We expect early customers to be people making set-top boxes, they are already adding Wi-Fi," he said. "Laptop manufacturers are also interested for Internet access, and so are access point makers."
The CCL platform consist of: hardware design for the radio, software to implement appropriate protocols, software for spectrum sensing, assistance with implementing the design, and help with FCC qualification.
CCL is a member of the CogNeA Alliance which is attempting to create industry standards for white space wireless devices.