Since TV is going digital could the abandoned airwaves become a haven for underground expression?

I’m afraid the FCC wouldn’t allow that.

Just because TV will become transmitted digitally doesn’t mean the airwaves won’t still be owned by the companies or overseen/managed by the FCC.

POW!

I’m Batman

Yeah- that was pretty much what I figured.
Would have been pretty interesting though.

They’ve already auctioned off some of that spectrum to Verizon. I’m sure that’s generally how it will go down.

Fuck you very much the FCC!

Yeah, agree with kevbo, I’m sure the tier 1 band are all in “big corp” hands already for other uses.

Do the airwaves transmit cell calls or is Verizon going to use it for another purpose?
What exactly can be done with airwaves aside of TV? (sorry if the question is ignorant- I really have no idea)

TV on your phone, I think. Or maybe a 4G network. The Verizon guy told me yesterday, but I can’t remember.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/700_Mhz_wireless_spectrum_auction

@jasongarrett awesome link- many thanks

Right, the point of stopping the analog transmission was not to abandon those frequencies, but to free them up for other use, and communication companies are lined up to grab them.