A coalition of major technology companies continue to aggressively lobby federal officials to use the white space spectrum between television broadcast channels, for wireless consumer devices as well as new Internet access. Now, with critical technology beginning to be tested by the FCC, the stakes are raised for broadcasters, production companies and Internet service providers...

Using unlicensed white space spectrum is a politically charged issue in Washington because of the perceived threat of competition it holds for the powerful telecom and cable television companies. Broadcasters are worried about interference with their transmissions, and production companies fear their wireless mics and other equipment will be stepped on...

"The telephone companies are terrified they'll lose 40 percent of their wireless minutes, because you'll be able to connect from work or home and bypass their wireless networks," J.H. Snider told MarketWatch. Snider is research director of the wireless future program at the New America Foundation, a Washington-based policy institute that has long advocated allowing use of white spaces...

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