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Much to the dismay of some smaller Internet providers, the fate of the 2155-2175MHz band is still up in the air.

The band, which is unlicensed and unused, has been sought by companies, such as M2Z Networks and NetfreeUS, as a means to provide nationwide wireless broadband services. Each of the two companies had applied separately with the Federal Communications Commission for the rights to operate the band and use it to make a nationwide wireless network. However, the FCC announced Aug. 31 that it was dismissing both applications, and thus leaving the band's future uncertain.

In a statement supporting the applications' dismissal, commissioner Michael Copps said that "the proper way to allocate this spectrum in the manner that best serves the public interest is to conduct a general rulemaking."

He described four different options that the commission should consider for dealing with the band, including opening it up for unlicensed use, designating it as an "open access model that would combine wholesale broadband access and a Carterfone mandate," using it to create a free nationwide broadband network that would be supported both through advertising revenue and revenue generated from premium service fees and licensing it through an open auction.

In a separate statement, commissioner Jonathan Adelstein expressed frustration with what he said was a lack of progress by the commission in designating rules for the band's use.

"I'm disappointed that despite the aggressive interest in and availability of this spectrum, the commission is only now expressing intent to seek comment on service rules for this band," he said.

The companies that filed applications to operate the band haven't given up, though. Shant Hovnanian, the CEO of Speedus Corp., the managing member of NetfreeUS, says that his company hoped to work with the FCC to shape their decision on the new rules.

"We are hopeful that there's an expedited process now to establish rules where we could still be victorious in getting our format approved," says Hovnanian, who wants to see the band used to create a free wireless network that will be funded by advertising. The idea is to make the Internet more like analog radio and television, where people can tune in for free in exchange for being exposed to advertisements.

M2Z CEO John Muleta says he would like to see the commission adopt rules similar to what M2Z had proposed in its application. M2Z's original proposal would have given the company operating rights for the 2155-2175 MHz band in exchange for developing a nationwide wireless network that the company claimed would have provided free Internet service to 95 percent of Americans. The network would have operated at a speed of 384Kps, and would have also featured an obscenity filter administered by M2Z's own National Broadband Radio Service.

Muleta says that while he's happy to see the FCC undertaking rulemaking sessions for the band, their actions may be too little, too late.

"We'd have welcomed this if they'd started it 15 months ago," he says. "A lot of the big carriers want to forestall competition, and the longer they make us wait to deliver our services, the better it is for the . . . Americans are dying for broadband, and it's not that it's not available, it's just incredibly expensive. We're offering a free service that's being retailed today for $40 to $90 a month."

Mike Jude, a senior analyst at Nemertes Research, says that his preferred solution for the band would be to open it up for unlicensed use, which he says could open the door for more innovation akin to the early days of citizens' band radio, which he describes as "a free-for-all that ultimately led to a lot of interesting ideas." However, he says the prospects for getting the current FCC to make the 2155-2175MHz band unlicensed are grim.

"The FCC has long history of wringing its hands in public, and often what they do is most politically expedient thing, which means going to go through the same traditional auction," he says. "That seems to be the path of least resistance, and it has a lot of attraction for politicians."

Sascha Meinrath, the research director for the New America Foundation's Wireless Future Program, says that any of the four options for the band laid out by Copps could be beneficial depending on the details. In particular, the ideas he finds most appealing are either making the 2155-2175 MHz band unlicensed or using it to provide a nationwide broadband service free of charge. However, he sees some potential concerns with some of the proposals laid out by M2Z and NetfreeUS. Obscenity filters such as the one proposed by M2Z, for instance, give him pause.

"You're either providing Internet access -- and the good, the bad and the ugly that entails -- or you end up becoming a government censor, which has incredibly scary connotations," he says. "Likewise, how advertising works on a free tier is vitally important. Ads should not be intrusive or end up degrading the user experience."

Meinrath says that auctioning off the band could be beneficial if it correlates mainly with providers' abilities to provide free service, and not simply their ability to pay. Among the criteria he'd like to see included in any potential auction are "free tier service speeds, buildout requirements and wholesale/open access."

"Opening the band up for auction a la the 700 MHz block is probably the worst idea of the lot," he says. "Let's have an auction that actually generates benefits that people will directly experience."