A coalition of companies that includes Microsoft, Google, Intel and Dell were recently rebuffed by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in their combined effort to offer wireless Internet access on unused portions of the nation’s television airwaves, so-called “white space.” The FCC’s Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) found that the coalition’s hardware failed to avoid interference with existing broadcast signals.

However, The Washington Post reports today that Microsoft disputes the FCC’s findings and plans, together with the coalition members, to press for approval of the device. The FCC apparently plans another meeting on Thursday to discuss further testing options for the coalition device.

Related Topics: Google: Internet Access | Google: Mobile | Microsoft: Bing Mobile | Microsoft: General | Microsoft: Partnerships

About The Author: Greg Sterling is a Contributing Editor at Search Engine Land. He writes a personal blog Screenwerk, about SoLoMo issues and connecting the dots between online and offline. He also posts at Internet2Go, which is focused on the mobile Internet. Follow him @gsterling. See more articles by Greg Sterling