BT, the Department of Transport and ‘technology specialists’ Neul have proposed a project to connect a stretch of the A14 between Felixstowe and Cambridge with wireless broadband. Sensors on the road will be able to 'communicate' directly with cars travelling on the motorway. The initial goal of the project will be to provide drivers with more immediate information about conditions on the road in order to decrease congestion and improve safety on the busy road.

However, the project is also expected to serve as a trial for other new and theorised technologies. It could be a first step in developing infrastructure for the potential roll out of ‘smart’ or driverless cars, with wireless sensors used to help direct the autonomous cars in the right direction. Google has been working on developing smart cars, with some successful trials in the last few years. As The Guardian points out, “the A14 project will not involve smart cars, but is a first step in building the infrastructure such vehicles will need. It could also lay the ground for charging motorists to use busy roads.”

Although the A14 is perhaps the most experimental and noteworthy of the new initiatives, it is just one of several wireless trials to have received the green light from British regulator Ofcom this week. Microsoft will explore ways to offer free Wi-Fi in Glasgow (the UK city with the lowest broadband uptake), while companies Click4internet, KTS & SineCom will investigate ways of bringing broadband access to difficult or rural territories.

All these projects and more will be designed to explore “white spaces”. White spaces refers to ‘gaps’ in the radio spectrum used by digital television signals. There is only a finite amount of spectrum space available for services looking to use the airwaves, and the spectrum is strictly regulated. It’s hoped that utilising the empty gaps in the existing broadband space will prove an efficient way to make the most out of existing wireless infrastructure, while minimising interference to current services. This is necessary as more and more technologies - such as 4G mobile internet and its possible successors - require their own dedicated wireless space.

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