President Obama plans to sign a memorandum Monday committing the government to freeing up more airwaves for wireless devices. The plan is to auction off 500 megahertz of the wireless spectrum over the next 10 years. By doing so, the government would nearly double the amount of the commercial spectrum currently available for mobile phones, netbooks and other gadgets.
RENEE MONTAGNE, host: NPR's business news starts with more room for mobile gadgets.</s>RENEE MONTAGNE, host: President Obama plans to sign a memorandum today committing the government to freeing up more airwaves for wireless devices. The plan is to auction off 500 megahertz of the wireless spectrum over the next 10 years. By doing so, the government would nearly double the amount of the commercial spectrum available for mobile phones, netbooks and other gadgets.</s>RENEE MONTAGNE, host: The goal is to meet the growing demand for mobile Internet, and also to help create jobs.