The Federal Communications Commission has voted 5-0 in favour of opening up the "white space" of unused airwaves between broadcast TV channels to be used for enhanced wireless broadband and communications.
This "Wi-Fi on steroids", as Google describes it, could offer a much larger range than current Wi-Fi technology, thus allowing greater broadband penetration in remote areas, and might also be used to set up local ad hoc networks directly between devices.
While the decision won't have a direct impact on the UK, Ofcom has already been looking at how unused TV spectrum can be better utilised, either for more low-powered, local television channels, or for mobile applications. Particularly once digital switchover is complete, there will likely be a lot more unused spectrum which can be allocated for other uses.
(Via Google Blog)
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