US, Canada, and Mexico to share wireless spectrum near borders

If you live in part of the US near a border between Canada or Mexico you might end up with access to more wireless spectrum than you have now. The FCC has announced that it has worked out deals with Mexico and Canada that would allow the sharing of certain frequencies of wireless spectrum in border areas.

The FCC expects that the move will allow for the faster and larger roll out of 4G wireless broadband for areas that are currently lacking in broadband options. The spectrum deal will also allow more coverage and availability for public safety and emergency response communications for fire, police, and EMS responders.

The deal will see spectrum in the 700MHz and 800MHz bands shared with Canada. In Mexico, the deal covers only 700Mhz spectrum. This sort of wireless spectrum is the key in Obama's plan to get broadband access to more parts of the US. Wireless access is the only viable way to get broadband in some remote areas of the country.

[via AllThingsD]