Google, Microsoft and others on Tuesday are launching an advertising and lobbying blitz to convince Capitol Hill that these unoccupied airwaves, or "white spaces", could be used for affordable high-speed Internet service, greatly benefiting rural areas and spurring competition and innovation.
Tech companies say the technology is there to allow low-powered, unlicensed devices, such as cell phones, laptops and BlackBerrys, to operate in the empty spectrum without interfering with over-the-air TV programming and wireless microphone signals.
