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FCC Chairman Kevin Martin is urging his colleagues at the agency to approve the use of unlicensed white space spectrum that sits alongside spectrum T-Mobile is using for its 3G network, Broadcasting & Cable reports . The FCC is scheduled to vote on the measure Nov. 4. Martin is proposing that devices be allowed to operate in the spectrum so long as they don't interfere with adjacent licensed spectrum. Power levels would also be more limited for devices operating alongside digital TV channels. The FCC is considering a proposal that would allow devices to operate at 100 milliwatts, but only 40 milliwatts on adjacent channels. Martin also reiterated the recent report that concluded devices could operate on white spaces without interfering with other broadcasts, but the FCC has been testing devices for months with mixed results. The FCC testing is being sold as an opportunity to draw up new rules to ensure interference doesn't occur, rather than a test on compliance with existing rules. An odd shift, considering TV broadcasters around the country are in the process of converting over-the-air TV to adjacent digital TV spectrum. Microsoft ( NSDQ: MSFT ), Dell, Motorola ( NYSE: MOT ) and Google ( NSDQ: GOOG ) are just some of the companies that want unlicensed access to the vacant TV channels for high-speed wireless services, but broadcasters and wireless-microphone manufacturers have fought against any such move along with T-Mobile. Martin doesn't believe unlicensed devices would become available for use on the spectrum for at least a year and perhaps longer. Related FCC Tests Determine White Space Devices Can Operate Without Interference Problems Top Of FCC's 2008 To-Do List: Verizon's Alltel Acquisition And Clearwire's Merger With Sprint's Xohm Social Media Deals Report: This 199-page report, filled with charts and data, examines the categories, number and size of VC and M&A deal in social media from 2007 through 2008. Visit the ContentNext...

Seattle-based Pelago , which has been developing a mobile social network called Whrrl, plans to announce either today or tomorrow that it has secured $15 million in a second round of funding, however several media outlets are already reporting the news today. Participating in the round is Deutsche Telekom's venture capital arm, T-Mobile Venture Fund, with funds coming from Reliance Technology Ventures and Palo Alto-based DAG Ventures. Original investors in Pelago's first round, totaling $7.4 million, were Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers, Trilogy Equity Partners and Bezos Expeditions, also participated. Originally, Pelago received funding from Kleiner, but after the prestigious valley firm announced it was launching the $100 million iFund, Pelago was transfered over to become the first iPhone application investment. Think of the company's application, Whrrl , as a mix between Facebook, City Search and Loopt. The social networking element is that you can share this information with friends, the directory part is that there's a list of restaurants and events that your friends can rate and say whether they are going to or not, and the Loopt part is you can see what your friends are up to. The information is exclusive to Whrrl because it's updated by a team in the Phillipines. Today, the application supports about 17 cities, and the Java application runs on a number of phones with Blackberry (and presumably iPhone) support coming shortly. With GPS support coming, users will also be able to update their whereabouts and write reviews of restaurants where they are at much faster. The new funds will be used for deploying the application across North America and into new overseas markets. Clearly, the team is working quickly on an iPhone version that will correspond with the launch of the 3G version. As the first iFund investment, I'm sure there's a lot of pressure to be out there looking good. However, with T-Mobile's investment, it raises...

After Cox Communications spend around $304 million in the recent 700 Mhz spectrum auction, now several reports, are speculating that the company will build out a wireless network through a subsidiary Cox Wireless. The company recently awarded a contract to Chinese equipment maker, Huawei, to supply CDMA gear for a wireless network, according to UBS Research via GigaOm . According to Cable News , there's a slew of cable companies that are looking at making the multi-million investment in wireless. The most high-profile investment might come from Time Warner ( NYSE: TWX ) and Comcast ( NSDQ: CMCSA ) which is rumored to be speaking with Sprint ( NYSE: S ) and Clearwire ( NSDQ: CLWR ) about building a 4G nationwide wireless network. A deal between them, and potentially also Intel ( NSDQ: INTC ) and Google ( NSDQ: GOOG ), may come as early as this week. But wireless plays are speculated among even smaller operators. Cable News lists at least three: Vulcan Spectrum, which is linked to Paul Allen, the chairman of Charter Communications ( NSDQ: CHTR ), bought spectrum for the Northwest for a total of $112 million; Bresnan Communications paid $3.8 million to obtain licenses in Montana; and Bend Broadband of Oregon also locked licenses for $6.74 million. Of course, Nextwave ( NSDQ: WAVE ) recently announced it was looking at selling its nationwide spectrum, which could also be attractive to a cable operator. It's anyone's guess what exactly any of these operators will do with the spectrum, however, the most likely scenario is for the companies to be interested in the data capabilities, so that they can offer Internet or TV access outside of the homes they currently cover. Related Comcast, Time Warner, Clearwire, Sprint, Etc. Still Talking About WiMax; Deal Could Come Next Week NextWave Wireless May Sell Spectrum Holdings That Could Create New Nationwide Carrier