FCC plans to auction off a band of radio-frequency spectrum being taken away from UHF TV stations is stirring up debate among potential bidders for spectrum licenses as well as potential users of the wireless services that might be offered on these frequencies.

Read a story about debate over the rules.

Here is a brief FAQ about the auction, which is scheduled for early next year. Rules governing the auction are expected within a week or two.

What is the spectrum we are talking about and why is it available?

It is the range from 747MHz to 792MHz that has been used historically for commercial UHF TV channels 60 through 67. Federal laws mandating digital TV has broadcasters giving the spectrum back to the FCC.

What’s the big deal?

The 700MHz spectrum is the largest single slice of spectrum to become available in years and may be the last for a very long time that. A key characteristic of the spectrum is that it will be unused in all parts of the United States at the time of the auction, meaning a successful bidder could secure rights to a wireless frequency covering the entire company.

What kinds of services could the frequency support?

The broadness of the available frequencies and their ability to penetrate buildings make them a likely candidate for delivering broadband wireless services. But virtually any traffic could be carried on these frequencies.

Will all the frequencies go to a single bidder?

Proposals call for chunks of it to be auctioned off and others to be reserved for a uniform national public safety channel and still more to be allocated on either side of public safety frequencies to buffer interference. The FCC would auction off the bandwidth blocks separately for six geographic regions.

What is the tie-in with a national public-safety network?

Current spectrum used by police, fire and other first-responders varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction with little ability for the various agencies to talk to each other. After 9/11, efforts have been made to designate bandwidth for emergency responders that supports inter-agency communication.

What is controversy about the auction?

The FCC has to set rules governing the auction, and these rules can have an impact on what uses winning bidders can put the frequencies to. Possibilities range from letting licensees do whatever they want with little restriction to requiring them wholesale bandwidth to other providers. Unrestricted use would make the spectrum very attractive and would likely draw the highest bids, meaning the wealthiest service providers would likely win. Requiring wholesale would make it less attractive and perhaps drop the bidding so competitors with less money might win licenses.

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