I heard this very interesting concept in a discussion over lots of beer with an old friend who currently works for a US wireless carrier. This revolutionary concept is called the open spectrum or ULTRAWIDEBAND, which treats the airwaves as common and shared by all. Unlike the current outmoded idea of ownership of spectrums, which governments auction off and deep-pocketed companies own like a piece of land, develop and control. The open spectrum works on the current ultrawideband that is invisible to licensed users in the same band. Advances in todays digital technologies allow this co-existence of multiple users in the same frequency without interferences. Part of the concept now is to have all smart devices whether phones, PDAs or laptops cooperating with one another effectively.
In this new open spectrum world, the wireless transmitters will be everywhere as you have today with microprocessors imbedded in every television, radio, PC, car, microwave oven and handheld device. Once turned on, these devices automatically tune to this free spectrum and network with one another. Phone calls may bypass central networks and be handed off and relayed across devices for free till they reach their recipients. Anyone now could be a radio broadcaster and reach an audience of millions too. Media distribution will be fluid, as TV networks would lose their lord over medias circulation. The greatest opportunity in developing killer-apps will be made available, as entrepreneurs can now freely develop the wildest undreamed of applications on this open platform. Sounds great, huh?
Just recently after much opposition, the FCC granted limited approval of ultrawideband. I would not exactly know for sure how this would work out for the end-user in terms of a scheduled commercial launch. One thing Im certain of though, I see huge hurdles standing in the way of the open spectrum as government agencies, incumbent license holders and big business would be intensely lobbying against it. Oh well, it was a good discussion with an old friend while it lasted. Shows you also what a cold six-pack of light beer can brew up.