Free Press activists so instrumental in bringing public attention to the issue announce (11/4/08) that “the Federal Communications Commission voted to approve the unlicensed use of ‘white spaces‘–empty airwaves between television channels–to provide high-speed Internet access nationwide”:
Nearly every market in the United States has available white spaces; in some communities, more than three-quarters of the broadcast spectrum is unused. Today’s FCC vote allows innovators to develop new technologies that will bring Internet service to millions of Americans in underserved communities.
Ben Scott, policy director of Free Press, made the following statement: …”The phone and cable companies that dominate the broadband market promise more of the same slow speeds and high prices that put us in this mess. Opening white spaces adds much-needed competition and innovation–sparking economic growth at a time when jobs and investment are on a downward spiral.
Free Press also provides a link to an inspiring range of voices who penned “letters in support of white spaces.”
