The airwaves are publicly owned, then licensed for private use by broadcasters and network operators. 2007 and 2008 have seen rapid developments in how these bargains are understood and made. Most prominent was the auction of the 700mhz bands in early 2008, which opened the debate about 'common carriage' requirements in wireless networks and the potential for a 'third pipe' for broadband services--complementing cable and DSL. The explosion of innovation around unlicensed spectrum, notably the Wi-Fi bands, offer a potent example of the value of such openness. But this was far from the only spectrum action, as the release of several blocks of low-power and full-power radio station licenses also provided a rare opening to community and civil society groups interested in becoming broadcasters. Debates about the uses of unexploited spectrum, such as the  'white spaces' between analog channels, promise to be a major arena for policymaking in the next few years.

In many cases, public-interest actors have been hampered by the lack of basic information about available spectrum and licenses, and information on the larger agendas and incentives of stakeholders. Several Collaborative Grants have addressed these issues, ranging from work on regulatory frameworks for community radio to mapping underutilized, federally-controlled spectrum for public use.

Spectrum and Licensing

• A Strategy, Acquisition, and Revenue Model of Evangelical Radio Networks (Research Bounty)

  A study of the business models and public service committments of the Christian broadcasting companies that dominate low-power FM licensing

  Proposing Organization: Prometheus Radio Project
  Primary Investigators: Colleen Connolly-Ahern and Amit Schejter, Penn State University




• Mapping Federal Radio Spectrum Holdings (Research Bounty)

  An examination of federal spectrum holdings that might be made available for direct public use on an interruptible, non-discriminatory basis--an alternative to the prevalent auction model.

  Proposing Organization: Media Access Project 
  Primary Investigator: Michael Calabrese, New America Foundation 




• New Network Neutrality: Toward a Stronger Account of Internet Freedom (Research Bounty)

  An analysis of quality of service (QoS) policies of major wired and wireless network providers, mapped against available traffic data.

  Proposing Organization: Open Technology Initiative (OTI) of the New America Foundation
  Primary Investigators: Andrew M. Odlyzko, University of Minnesota; Sascha Meinrath and Victor Pickard, NAF; and Mike Weisman, Reclaim the Media




• The Public FM Project: Supporting Non-Profit FM Radio Licensing

  A crash effort in mapping frequencies and preparing non-profit groups for the 2007 non-commercial radio station licensing window.

  Primary Investigators: Todd Urick, Common Frequency; Andy Jones, University of California - Davis 
  Partnering Organization: Common Frequency