The FCC’s Office of Engineering Technology recently announced that the testing of the first TV White Spaces database demonstrated that the database “worked.” Ok, a couple definitions of “worked” include that a certain activity performed a function as intended or operated as expected. In this case, we suspect that the FCC’s pronouncement presumably meant that the database accurately contained all incumbent facilities that are to be protected from white space devices. Not too difficult an exercise. But to really work, those of us that represent incumbent operations that reside within the TV White Spaces need to know whether any unlicensed white space devices had proven capable of accessing the database for the purpose of avoiding interference to incumbent, licensed operations. That’s why the database is being constructed by eight or nine providers in the first place. If that information were the FCC announcement, then the testing exercise would have truly “worked.”As reported by EWA earlier this month, the FCC would be performing public testing of the first database until November 2. The FCC explained that the time-limited trial was to allow public access to the actual database, "to ensure that it correctly identifies channels that are available for unlicensed TV Band devices, properly registers those facilities entitled to protection, and provides protection to authorized services and registered facilities as specified in the rules.” Among the services identified as being entitled to protection are “private land mobile radio service and commercial mobile radio service operations.”