These spaces are effectively gaps between those airwaves used for television, radio and mobile services, and are used as buffers to prevent the broadcasting and mobile signals from interfering with each other. In the past, white spaces have been put to little or no use, but telecoms regulator Ofcom wants to develop them for broadband services. "Recycling airwaves – or 'spectrum' – in this way is a highly efficient use of what is a very limited resource," the watchdog said.