As the lines between unlicensed and licensed spectrum blur in carrier strategies, bands of both types are increasingly valued and therefore contested. This is clear in the acceleration of spectrum-related developments in the US so far this year, starting with the record sums raised for the non-beachfront AWS-3 licences, and now seen in a series of disputes over the next frequencies to become available for licence-exempt use, including extended 5GHz, 3.5GHz, and the spaces in the 600MHz broadcast bands. In the licence-exempt spectrum, there are many interested parties, not just wireless service providers. The car industry is pitched against the broadband business, for instance, as Congress seeks to pass a reworked ‘WiFi Innovation Act’, which would pave the way to…