A huge battle is taking place in Washington right now over a seemingly arcane issue with a very intimidating name -- the 700 MHz Auction.

Although most consumers don't know it, they have a huge stake in this fight. It could determine whether a whole new generation of "Gee Whiz" wireless devices will be developed, and how much they will cost. It will help determine whether you can use your wireless devices virtually anywhere, and how much that will cost.

So what is the 700 MHz Auction?

It's really pretty simple. The government has ordered television broadcasters to return a large chunk of the free airwaves they have used for decades when they switch over to digital broadcasting in February 2009. Those returned airwaves -- which are located along the 700 Megahertz portion of the broadcast spectrum -- are highly prized because they are able to travel fairly long distances and penetrate structures.

The Federal Communications Commission plans to auction exclusive licenses to this coveted portion of the spectrum and is in the process of writing the bidding rules. And those bidding rules are what the current hubbub in Washington is all about.

On one side are phone and cable companies -- who currently provide nearly all of the country's broadband service -- as well as many wireless service providers such as Verizon and AT&T. Although they have some differences, this side generally wants to see the 700 MHz spectrum auctioned off to the highest bidder -- as the FCC has done in past spectrum auctions.

On the other side is a broad coalition of technology companies, public interest groups and consumer organizations, including Consumers Union, which sponsors www.hearusnow.org and this blog. There are also some differences within this coalition, but one overriding goal is to fashion bidding rules that would allow for the creation of a nationwide wireless broadband system to compete with the phone and cable companies.

You can read the full comments Consumers Union and other public interest groups submitted to the FCC by clicking here (PDF).

The Senate Commerce Committee held a hearing on the issue ealier today.

We think this is an incredibly important issue, and that all consumers should insist that the FCC auction off this valuable spectrum in a way that benefits the public, not just the phone and cable companies. We are joined by dozens of other organizations big and small, everyone from Google to MoveOn.org.

Sen. John Kerry put it very well in a letter he sent to the FCC this week, which you can read by clicking here (PDF).

"The (FCC) must ensure the greatest use of this spectrum, a limited and vital natural resource," wrote Kerry. "We cannot allow this spectrum to be hoarded by large companies who don't intend to use it, which stifles innovation and growth of competitive networks."

Information Week has published an excellent article on the lobbying battle now going on in Washington, which you can read by clicking here.

We hope that you will join in as well by contacting the FCC, Congress and the other cogs in the government machinery involved in this important issue.

The good folks over at Free Press have set up a simple system for sending your own comments to the FCC, which you can reach by clicking here.
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