US regulator the FCC has taken the first steps to opening up the vacant airwaves between TV channels, so called ‘white spaces’. This is the first significant block of spectrum made available for unlicensed use in more than 20 years. The Second Memorandum Opinion and Order adopted this week resolves numerous legal and technical issues, eliminating the requirement that TV bands devices that incorporate geo-location and database access must also include sensing technology to detect the signals of TV stations and low-power auxiliary service stations.