Is the Radio Spectrum That Runs Our Lives Running Out of Space?

The electromagnetic spectrum, and the ways we use it, affect the everyday lives of almost everyone on Earth. Governments allocate the use of radio waves for innumerable commercial, non-profit, and public uses, with the goal of improving communication speed and ease around the world. Indeed, every piece of technology that involves wireless transmission — from televisions to cell phones to Wi-fi — is taking advantage of these waves as we speak. But as the image above shows, the airwaves are getting more and more crowded, to the point where big moves are necessary if we want to continue expansion.

Now, the U.S. government is making a move that could both expand available airwaves and raise much-needed funds. In his fiscal 2011 budget released this week, President Obama proposes allowing the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to continue auctioning off parts of the radio spectrum until 2020 — an authority that was set to expire in 2012. In addition, the budget calls for allowing the FCC to sell the rights to small parts of the spectrum that are still not used; in total, the new fees will bring in an estimated $6 billion or more for the feds.

In addition to the money, these changes will bring important new capacity to the increasingly-overburdened airwaves, adding to last June’s conversion of all U.S. television broadcasting to digital signals — a monumental move, since it meant the government opened up a massive new block of transmission at frequencies of 700 MHz. The TV stations that had once broadcast at channels 52 to 69 were simply moved to lower channels, leaving the space open for other use.

Why are these specific frequencies so crucial? Unlike many other parts of the radio spectrum, they are ideal for transmitting information to pretty much anywhere — they can travel long distances and penetrate thick walls (which is why they were used for TV in the first place).

For the most part, the spectrum’s complexities are hidden from the public eye, with devices just seeming to “work” for most people, until problems arise. Baby monitors sometimes project the sound of pressing the keys on a cordless phone, for example, or computer speakers can erupt in static when cell phones receive calls. The cause of these strange occurrences is electromagnetic interference (EMI) along the radio spectrum: These devices are producing signals in overlapping sections of the airways, and the result is reduced reception quality and unwanted information interconnections.

The TV frequencies that were abandoned/freed in the move to digital have not been ignored — in fact, in 2008 the FCC auctioned off their use in preparation for the switch to digital TV. They were sold in small portions at a total price of almost $20 billion, mostly to Verizon Wireless and AT&T, after a contentious debate in which Google threatened major action. But neither telecom company has divulged how exactly it plans to take advantage of its respective part of the pricey airwaves, and the 700 MHz frequencies have been mostly silent over the past few months.

The possibilities for using them are vast, and U.S. consumers are likely to benefit from easier access to quick Internet on mobile devices in the short term. While the Japanese and Koreans are able to watch TV without a problem on their cell phones, that technology is only arriving slowly in America. The new open space on the spectrum will clear faster connections to such content, making dreams of wireless Internet access from anywhere more realizable, since the affected waves are easy to catch.

Plus, the FCC ruled that access to the frequencies will be open, so devices and applications from all sorts of individuals, companies, and non-profits will be able to connect.

But the willingness of Verizon and AT&T to invest billions in this part of the spectrum clearly means they hope to see material gain from their use — and they recognize that there is only limited space on the available airwaves. Consumers can expect to be charged big bucks in the future for the services the companies will provide over the 700 MHz frequencies.

A new advance from industrial giant Alcatel-Lucent announced today, however, may dilute the importance of the President’s opening of empty frequencies to use or the reuse of the former TV wavelengths. The company’s new product will allow cell phone service providers to handle multiple network technologies on the same frequency, multiplying the opportunities to use the limited space currently available and will lower prices on the market by encouraging more competition.

Image from U.S. Department of Commerce