Bills would boost unlicensed Wi-Fi

[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Anne Broache]
A pair of similar measures introduced Friday would give wireless device manufacturers the green light to develop products for unlicensed use on the broadband airwaves' "white spaces"--that is, empty, unused channels in the broadcast TV bands. The New America Foundation, an independent think tank that supports freeing up the white space for wireless deployment, estimates that 40 percent to 80 percent of the TV spectrum lies vacant in rural areas and that major metropolises host a fair share of empty spectrum as well. That organization joined consumer advocates in applauding the bills' introduction. "Opening the white spaces for new and innovative technologies is an essential step toward bridging the digital divide, bringing 21st century telecommunications to rural areas and providing affordable access to all Americans," advocacy groups Consumers Union and Free Press wrote in a letter to the bills' sponsors. The American Broadband for Communities Act offered by Sen. Ted Stevens, the Alaska Republican who chairs the Senate Commerce Committee, would involve rewriting telecommunications law to free up only certain portions of the unused spectrum for wireless deployment. Virginia Republican George Allen's two-page Wireless Innovation Act of 2006, co-sponsored by Democrats John Kerry and Barbara Boxer, and by Republican John Sununu, appears to call for unlicensed wireless activities on any unused piece of the analog TV band.
http://news.com.com/Bills+would+boost+unlicensed+Wi-Fi/2100-7351_3-60415...

See also --
* Lawmakers Move to Make FCC Allow Broader Wireless Net
http://newstandardnews.net/content/index.cfm/items/2844