FCC scrambles to cope with data avalanche

Smartphone companies and carriers are desperate for network capacity to provide souped-up service, but they're hard-pressed to find it. The latest attempt: a government effort to use the staticky space between television channels.

It's the technology equivalent of searching the couch cushions for loose change. The Federal Communications Commission opened up the light spectrum that sits between individual television channels numbered 1 through 51. Wireless communications in those "white spaces" will be permitted as of Jan. 26 in a testbed location and will be opened up nationally in the following months. Broadcasting in the white spaces means that a company like Verizon could deliver signal between channels 5 and 6, for instance. That gives it just a little extra capacity boost to give its customers faster service. The announcement comes as wireless companies are facing a spectrum crunch crisis that has already begun to reshape the industry. [Dec 29]