The FCC is opening a Notice of Inquiry to consider the issue of whether to allow unlicensed devices to use frequencies below 900 MHz and in the 3 GHz band. These devices would include wireless LANs and home burglar alarms.
Other licensed devices, such as software radios, could also be allowed in these areas of the spectrum. Software radios are devices that use various frequencies, bandwidth, and modulation techniques, based on application and driver software loaded on the device. A software-controlled radio would allow a single piece of hardware, say a cell phone, to work throughout the world by implementing the required cell standard by changing software stack running on the device.
For more information visit www.fcc.gov.