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Do you "go wireless" with your computer? Are you tired of hunting around for "hot spots"? Or how about your cell phone? Isn't it fun to have to walk around Oak Point searching for that magic spot where you can make a call? And then the wind blows and it goes away? All that may be changing soon.

On January 16th, 2008, TV channels 52 to 68 go up for auction. That is, the broadcast spectrum they use is being sold. This is all part of the deal Congress made with the TV broadcasters; they promised to move to digital High Def, they got some freebies, and in turn they had to give up the spectrum these channels use.

So big deal, right? Well, yes, it is. This is low frequency bandwidth, which is the bandwidth everybody wants because it travels farther and penetrates buildings.. the Superman of bandwidth. Think big bass drums as opposed to high pitched whistles: low frequencies go the distance. So everybody wants that spectrum - the 700MHz band.

"Everybody" is Google, AT&T, Sprint and plenty of people you never heard of. Google? Yep, Google would like to be your broadband provider. Perhaps more importantly, it also includes your local fire, police and ambulance services: remember 9/11 when there was so much problem with different departments being unable to communicate with each other? The idea is to put all public safety into the same spectrum slots to make that easier.

Originally 24Mmz of the pie was going to go to public safety and the rest would be tossed to the floor for the dogs to fight over. So, 24MHz was to go for public safety, 60MHz or so for wireless use, and the rest of the available 108MHz had already gone somewhere before this auction..

Well, the FCC instead went with a plan where all of it could be available to public safety if needed. That is, all the big dogs get to bid on the 60 or so MHz that they want, but they have to build it out so that it could be handed over to public safety in the event of an emergency.

Remember those "This is a test of the Emergency Broadcast System" things on TV? Yeah, something like that: you'll be cruising around the country, using your 4G wireless, and they'll take it away for that. On the one hand it sounds good: you want the public safety folks to be able to work in an emergency, but imagine the panic that will set in when nobody can use their cell phone or wireless internet.. and imagine the conspiracy theories that can be built off the ability to render us deaf and dumb at the flip of a switch.. oh well..

Ok, but what about that 4G wireless access, fast, ubiquitous, wireless nirvana? We will get that, right? Yes, but what you get, and how much fun it's going to be, depends a bit on who wins the auction in your area and how nice they want to play with everyone else. The rules set up by the FCC say that the network must allow "open devices and open applications", but they did not include what companies like Google wanted to see: open services and open networks. The difference may not seem all that much, but in reality it is. AT&T sees the proper use of that network much differently than Google would. It all gets very confusing, with everybody accusing everone else of rape and bribery. You mean we can't trust that other giant corporation but we can trust you? You know what's good for us but they are just after our money? Gosh, I thought all of you were Eagle Scouts..

Well, no matter what happens, things will improve for you and me. Someday we may actually have wireless internet and better cell phone coverage just about anywhere we want to be, and it might even be cheaper in addition to faster and more reliable. How much we get and what happens longer term might depend on who wins what at the auction, but life will get better, and it is good to know that public safety will get a boost too. Even if they can put the rest of us into the dark whenever they want..