House lawmakers in both parties are stepping up pressure on the FCC to permit technology companies such as Dell, Google, Hewlett-Packard and Microsoft to harness vacant broadcast spectrum in order to expand wireless, high-speed Internet access.

In a Tuesday letter to the agency, Reps. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis.; Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn.; Nathan Deal, R-Ga.; Jay Inslee; D-Wash., Mike Rogers, R-Mich.; and Edolphus Towns, D-N.Y., urged the FCC to resolve any remaining technical issues and release final rules in a few months. All six lawmakers sit on the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

At a Wednesday press briefing sponsored by the Wireless Innovation Alliance, a new organization promoting the use of so-called "white space," Inslee said federal guidelines are needed. ...

In September, broadcasters held a press conference to warn that their historic switch to digital could be jeopardized by handheld devices operating simultaneously in TV bands.

The FCC is sorting out the competing claims.

But Michael Calabrese, vice president of the New America Foundation, which has concluded that interference concerns are overblown, noted that Philips, a major TV manufacturer, is among the white-spaces proponents.

"Every time there's a technological breakthrough, there's always worries" about interference with incumbent uses, he said, noting that the FCC has the expertise to avoid such problems. ...

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