For something that you can't see or touch, the electromagnetic spectrum
sure is valuable property. The auction of a big slice of useful, empty airwaves
---used by television broadcasts before they went all digital in 2009---is expected to net the federal government $25 billion to fund payroll tax cut extensions
. This auction is one thing everyone could agree on amidst all the bipartisan sniping in Congress. That's how much of a no-brainer it is. While the electromagnetic spectrum is fixed by the laws of physics, the use of that spectrum is human and quickly changing affair: global mobile traffic is expected to increase 18-fold in the next 5 years
. WiFi, mobile phones, and radio are all vying for a limited slice of the radio frequency part
of the electromagnetic spectrum. Luckily, we've got a chunk of empty airwaves where analog TV used to be. Mobile phone companies, whose ...
