The Federal Communications Commission is expected to reveal the first details about its upcoming spectrum auction. Unlike recent auctions, this is one of the best bits of spectrum to ever hit the auctioneer's podium: it's a chunk of spectrum in the 700MHz band that's about to be vacated by television broadcasters. It also has the potential to influence the course of US broadband policy for years to come.

Currently used by UHF channels 52 through 69, the spectrum reaches from 698MHz to 806MHz, and will be vacated once the transition from analog to digital television transmission takes place in February 2009. Small bits were auctioned off between 2000 and 2003, and another 30MHz will likely be reserved for public safety use, but there will still be 60MHz up for grabs.

There have been a number of proposals covering how the spectrum should be allocated, and not everyone is in favor of an auction. One company, Cyren Call, has proposed devoting the bandwidth to a "nationwide, next-generation wireless broadband network" for public safety communications. Some of that bandwidth could then also be used by the public for wireless broadband.

Some have argued that the traditional auction rules shouldn't apply here because of the importance of the 700MHz spectrum to US broadband strategy. Because of the characteristics of signals in this slice of the electromagnetic spectrum, they have wide coverage and can easily pass through walls. That makes it ideal for wireless broadband services that could provide inexpensive service to rural areas and competition to cable and DSL everywhere else.

Other potential uses for the spectrum include traditional cellular phone service, especially for rural areas, along with 4G wireless networks like the one Sprint has planned. Although WiMAX is intended to operate in a different part of the spectrum, it could also be deployed in the 700MHz neighborhood.

Should the 700MHz spectrum ultimately be used for something other than wireless broadband, there is still some hope for the technology. The White Spaces Coalition is pushing the FCC to approve a technology that would allow wireless broadband providers to use "white space" in the 2MHz to 698MHz range to provide Internet access at speeds of up to 80Mbps.

The FCC has yet to set a date for the auction, but a 2005 law mandates that it begin by January 28, 2008. Winners will be able to deploy their services once the digital television transition is complete.