WASHINGTON — As demand for wireless services surges, the federal government is weighing whether to wrest valuable swaths of the public airwaves from the exclusive use of television broadcasters and make them available to technology companies.
The proposal is part of a major policy shift backed by the Bush administration and the Federal Communications Commission, which want to open more of the crowded broadcast spectrum to emerging technologies such as the popular wireless networking standard known as Wi-Fi.
The administration and the FCC also want to speed the much-delayed transition to digital television by taking away spectrum from broadcasters and other users that are not making "efficient" use of it. For example, some companies use the frequencies assigned them rarely -- or not at all.
"This is their wake-up call," said Michael D. Gallagher, an acting assistant Commerce secretary who oversees telecommunications policy for the Bush administration.
The policy shift reflects the growing influence of tech companies in Washington. It has angered broadcasters, which ridicule the ideas as "unrealistic," saying they would "wreak havoc" on the tightly regulated spectrum. Technology firms say they need greater access to airwaves that support everything from instant text messaging on the subway to wireless laptops at Starbucks.
Television airwaves are particularly prized by purveyors of wireless devices because they can more easily pass through walls and other obstructions than the unlicensed portion of the spectrum, which is choked with 400 million cordless phones, microwave ovens, garage door openers and other electronic gadgets.
"The growth in wireless is beginning to have a real impact on policymakers," said lawyer Greg Staples, who is leading a project to bring free Wi-Fi service to the National Mall in Washington.
In 1997, broadcasters were given $70 billion worth of spectrum to provide digital television by 2006. In exchange, they pledged to return their existing analog TV channels, which were to be auctioned off to wireless service providers.
Few believe digital television will be widespread enough in two years to end analog transmissions. The Bush administration and FCC Chairman Michael K. Powell have made it clear that they are frustrated by the slow rollout.
