The FCC has been asking for authority to hold voluntary incentive auctions, where TV licensees turn in some or all of their spectrum, and are compensated. The voluntary incentive auctions are an important part of the FCC’s National Broadband Plan. So is funding for a “public safety broadband network for first responders”, and that is also contained in the House bill. The Senate companion bill, S. 911, is further behind, having passed the Commerce Committee but not having been called up to the floor. The FCC contemplates increasing the amounts of both licensed and unlicensed spectrum, to relieve the “bottleneck” it says America’s experiencing now. Some TV owners aren’t so sure about all this: they say that wireless companies and other players are sitting spectrum that’s being unused or underused.