Meantime, Reps. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) and Christopher Cannon (R-Utah) are pushing a bill to foster deployment of a national, family-friendly wireless broadband network with open access. Their bill envisions one auction of airwaves in the 2155-2180 MHz band and another auction involving yet-to-be-determined spectrum below 3 GHz.

Eschoo’s bill directs the two national licensees to provide a tier of free service -- one absent of obscene and indecent material -- to consumers and public-safety agencies. The two auction winners would be required to complete construction of networks within 10 years, and they would have to cover at least 95% of the population.