About freeing the airwaves

One of America's most valuable natural resources is our "white spaces" -- the radio airwaves, or spectrum, that have long carried analog TV signals. Three-fourths of the white spaces are completely unused today, and -- especially once TV is broadcast in digital only starting in 2009 -- could be used to kick-start a revolution in wireless technology, including universal wireless online access and numerous new products and services that can't even be imagined today.

This fall, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will decide whether to make this spectrum available for anyone to use. At Google, we think more open access to the white spaces is essential, not only for companies like ours, but for society in general. But this outcome is far from certain, so we've joined a broad coalition of public interest groups and industry peers who are working to convince the FCC to free the airwaves and unleash the next generation of Internet innovation. We hope you'll add your voice to the debate by signing our petition and helping spread the word about this campaign.

Why Google cares

Google launched this website because we believe strongly that freeing the white spaces is crucial to the future of the Internet. Make no mistake: open access to this unused bandwidth would surely be good for our own bottom line (not to mention those of many of our industry peers); better access to the Internet means more people doing web searches and using our software products.

But we think the public interest here is paramount, and just as clear. Opening up the vast unused portion of spectrum will enable a new generation of innovation and competition from which consumers -- especially those to whom the white spaces could soon deliver high-speed online access -- should benefit tremendously, both from a wealth of new products and services and from far lower cell phone and Internet access bills.

We don't presume to speak for you and your interests, though; our goal is simply to explain why we think this issue is crucial and to highlight the many public interest groups, companies, activists and academics who also support this cause. We hope that once you've explored the facts for yourself, you'll want to make your voice heard, too, and urge the FCC to free the airwaves now.