THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc. DATE: SATURDAY, June 4, 1994 TAG: 9406040257 SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: D4 EDITION: FINAL SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS DATELINE: 940604 LENGTH: BLACKSBURG
On Thursday, the Federal Communications Commission will announce the ground rules for an auction of a radio spectrum previously reserved for the government's own communications.
{REST} The broadcast space would be available only for companies developing new, wireless communications devices, including telephones, computers and fax machines. Companies could bid for licenses as early as the end of the year.
The 200 megahertz worth of space is a sizable chunk. The cellular phone industry, serving more than 10 million users, was built on 50 megahertz.
The expansion of the commercial radio band will substantially reduce the cost of cellular communications and open up markets for new products, said Brian Woerner, director of the Mobile and Portable Radio Research Group at Virginia Tech.
``With the conference, the spotlight really is on southwest Virginia,'' Woerner said.
The state established the Center for Wireless Telecommunications at Virginia Tech in July to promote the technology and increased the annual appropriation from $300,000 to $500,000 this year.
``The state sees this as an industry it wants to foster,'' said Jeff Reed, an assistant professor of electrical engineering at Virginia Tech. ``It has asked the university to assist companies in developing technology and help companies locate here.''
by CNB