Kevin Martin, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman, said Wednesday during a rather spontaneous press conference that he pledged his support for the use of the white space spectrum as long as it does not affect broadcasters and announced that the issue would be up for vote at the FCC's next open meeting on November 4.

A five-member commission will vote on the proposed $28.1 billion merger between Verizon Wireless and rural operator Alltel. If approved, the combined company would become the nation's largest wireless provider, with 80 million customers. Such a service could compete with existing broadband networks from cellular carriers and perhaps cable and DSL offerings.

"Evaluation of the Performance of Prototype TV-Band White Space Devices," is a report also issued by the FCC on Wednesday. It discusses the feasibility of devices created to take advantage of the freed up TV broadcast frequencies, and includes "detailed results of laboratory and field interference tests of several prototype TV band white space devices," according to the report's executive summary.

Moreover Martin said he is “hoping to take advantage of utilizing these airwaves for broadband services to allow for unlicensed technologies and new innovations in that space.” Martin has been a long-time proponent of unlicensed use of white spaces, but these latest comments could indicate some interference issues examined in the report.

The FCC will also vote on the proposed merger between WiMax provider Clearwire and Sprint Nextel's Xohm business. Google for instance is on their side and has been lobbying for use of the white spaces in partnership in conjunction with advocacy groups such as the Wireless Innovation Alliance.