image Turbocharged WiFi, using frequencies between HDTV channels, is coming to the U.S., thanks to a just-made FCC decision. And e-books could benefit in various ways.

With signals able to travel over greater distances than regular WiFi, Kindle-style wireless arrangements could be more practical for other vendors, especially Google and friends.

Bottom line

The bottom line would be easier shopping without downloading hassles—direct transmission to e-readers or smartphones, for example. And the phones themselves could use the WiFi for voice-over-Internet arrangements.

Also, this could be a boon to networked books and others that thrive on always-on connections. I wonder of any NB-related Android apps could be coming in time.

Related: Cheers from Google’s Larry Page—plus Google wins big at FCC today, in Gigaom (source of the tower image), which points out the technical complexities. Don’t expect instant miracles here.

Also of interest: MobileRead item on the ability to buy and directly download Mobipocket books for the Blackberry. Go here for details from Mobi.

Update, 1:40 p.m.: Washington Post on the FCC decision and muni WiFi arrangements.

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1 COMMENT

  1. There are severe restrictions on how powerful these devices can be, so the range will be short.

    It seems like a great way for libraries to use ebooks. Have a server with e-texts, even with hateful DRM, and then librarians could simply have an array of tablet-style devices (using eInk or Pixel Qi displays, maybe) to offer patrons while in the library. Could be excellent for reading periodicals, for example.

    In schools, it would be a great boon as well: often at mid-term time, or when papers on a topic are due, students all want access to the same (limited-number) books for a given subject. The school librarians could have those slate-tablet devices, or else have software identification that students could use to view the books on their laptops.

    Since the texts are ‘tethered’ to a space inside the library, this solution might be more acceptable to piracy-fearing publishers.

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