In a bid to take up even more of the wireless radio spectrum, President Barack Obama has signed a presid

ential memorandum supporting the FCC’s release of  500 MHz of wireless spectrum for broadband services. It’s been no secret that the FCC has been trying to play catch up with Europe on broadband speed and technology. This new initiative paves the way for the FCC to sell spectrum that can potentially deliver wireless broadband speeds of up to 100 megabits a second to 100 million homes in the United States. It also makes it possible for the FCC to create a nationwide safety communication network, something they’ve been trying to accomplish ever since emergency workers across the country had trouble talking to one another during the September 11th attack.

The FCC is currently fast-tracking an exploration of the broadband spectrum that is still available and how quickly other parts of the spectrum will open up. As the wireless spectrum is limited and is in high demand, this freed up spectrum is expected to go for more than 10 billion dollars when the FCC sells it in the next 5 years. This is money that will go towards both the safety communication network infrastructure and to actually pay off the national debt.

Of course on the video side, the only real question is does this mean that we’ll have to buy new wireless microphones again? The 700 MHz frequency range has already been sold off so who’s to say that wireless microphone frequency holders might not want to sell off more? Plus with all of the other important uses for the other parts of the spectrum, there can be no doubt that the pressure will be high for wireless microphone frequency holders to sell out. On the plus side however, if that event does occur,  you should have no problem getting updated quickly on your new 100 megabit per second wireless connection.

With more and more devices crowding the airwaves it can be hard to find an available frequency without interference while setting up your wireless mics. Sennhesier has a solution, an audio tool for finding open frequencies that incorporates the FCC TV broadcast database.  Simply enter either a City or Zip Code and the application provides you with a list of available and used frequencies. This is another one of those must have tools for any filmmaker serious about getting great audio without spending time looking for an open frequency which we all know can be very time consuming.

Over at ArsTechnica, there’s a great writeup on the FCC’s proposed ban on wireless microphones that operate between the 698-806MHz frequencies.

The FCC recently auctioned this space off due to the end of terrestrial analog broadcast in February of 2009, and the telecom companies that bought this spectrum, don’t want wireless mics interfering with their new frequencies.

“In July, a consortium of public interest groups warned the FCC that unlicensed wireless mic use in the area poses a threat that will become more pronounced after the DTV deadline. The Public Interest Spectrum Coalition’s (PISC) petition estimates that between 500,000 to 1 million unauthorized wireless mic systems operate in the 700MHz channels, “creating pools of potential interference that could undermine the reliability of these new public safety and commercial wireless systems.”

Most manufacturers stopped selling mics in this range last year, but if you have an older wireless system it’s possible that your wireless mic could soon be illegal to use in the United States, if it falls within those frequency ranges.

The complaint specifically targets these manufacturers:

Complaint of Public Interest Spectrum Coalition (PISC) Against Shure, Inc., Nady Systems, Inc., VocoPro, Audio2000, Sennheiser Electronic Corporation, Audix Microphones, Electro Voice, Hisonic International, Inc., Pyle Audio, et al.

Check out the the full article at Ars.