Air war escalates

If wireless is the future, it'll surely mean a jump in demand for that most insubstantial yet precious of commodities: spectrum.

Everyone wants in on the invisible electromagnetic waves that carry all forms of audio and video media. The problem is that the electromagnetic spectrum is finite. As a result, mobile operators are engaged in a tussle with TV broadcasters over who gets what. And in Washington the idea of a spectrum crunch or crisis has morphed into a complex debate over whether current holders of spectrum are squandering it or squatting on it (and there actually is a difference). At issue is a plan championed by the FCC to wrest as much as 120 MHz of spectrum from broadcasters, who would voluntarily give up portions of their airspace. The government would then put it up for auction, with the broadcasters sharing in the proceeds from the sale. Broadcasters -- miffed at the idea that their turf is being encroached upon and ceded to broadband -- are skeptical that such transactions will be truly voluntary. With many predicting that broadband will be the communications future, with mobile tech driving its growth, TV stations have wasted little time suggesting that a mad rush to wireless would jeopardize TV as we know it, including localism, public-interest standards, even the quality of the signal. While wireless firms have warned of America losing its competitiveness as a spectrum crunch worsens, the broadcast lobby has raised the idea that the problem isn't scarcity but hoarding.