New Media, Old Media in Fight for Airwaves

A battle over spectrum is brewing in the U.S. between broadcasters and wireless companies.

There's an old media vs. new media battle brewing in the U.S. after the Federal Communications Commission suggested reclaiming airwaves from "inefficient" users – specifically, television broadcasters – and auctioning them off to the highest bidder. The FCC reasons this will help cellphone users and internet wireless connections with overcrowding issues, such as dropped calls and websites that take eons to load. However, broadcasters – who have seen their audiences switch over to cable and advertisers defect to the internet – are furious with the plan. Although the change in airwaves, or "spectrum" as it's known in the industry, would go unnoticed by audiences, the battle to hold onto a piece of the airwaves is sizing up to be the industry's biggest in years.