The burgeoning WiMAX community in the U.S. may see spectrum swaths in the 700 MHz band auctioned off for 802.16e Mobile WiMAX deployments within the next two years, according to Michael Gallagher, assistant secretary of commerce for communications and information, and head of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.

Gallagher told the crowd attending his lunch keynote speech last week at the WCA International Symposium and Business Expo in San Jose, Calif., that the Bush administration is pushing ahead to promote availability of spectrum for WiMAX in multiple bands, including 700 Mhz. In his role as assistant secretary of commerce, Gallagher is considered the top spectrum advisor to the Bush administration.

The 700 MHz spectrum still is home to analog TV, and plans to have the spectrum vacated with the progression to digital TV have been delayed numerous times during this decade. The most recent deadline for moving analog TV off the spectrum is 2009.