When trying to figure out how to divvy up the spectrum freed up when U.S. television goes digital in 2009, the FCC looked at working examples of shared spectrum operation. They found a model they liked in Kentucky, where a public-private partnership has raised computer literacy and ownership by huge margins during the last four years. That partnership is the basis for the proposed plan in which the band will be auctioned to commercial providers who'll then turn its use over to public service agencies in case of emergencies. It might just be the plan that allows emergency workers to keep communicating when things go very, very wrong.

For more on the Kentucky experience:
- read the feature article at eWeek