By Jesse Sunenblick
Columbia Journalism Review at Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism, CJR January/February 2005
This article considers the origins, present uses and possible transformative properties of a new frequency-hopping technology called "spread spectrum". Currently, the transformative powers of spread spectrum are difficult to tap into due to old FCC restrictions on spectrum, and the private industry's designs for privatizing the remainder of unlicensed spectrum.
However, if unlicensed spectrum were to be opened, among other things, current wireless internet technologies would have mobile, cheap and ubiquitous wireless access capabilities. Sunenblick cites a number of examples, national and international, that depict inspiring results using our current capabilities, and forecast greater results if the spectrum were opened to unlicensed radios.
While the article concludes with a dismal prediction of privatization, it must be consider that there is still time to protest for open spectrum.
For the complete article: http://www.cjr.org/issues/2005/2/sunenblick.asp