Spectrum is going to be a hot issue in the upcoming year. Freeing up spectrum is a major part of the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) National Broadband Plan, and last week Congress passed a law allowing TV stations to auction their spectrum to the highest bidding wireless broadband companies. Spectrum is such a crucial issue right now because it’s finite — there are only so many available frequencies with which to broadcast in a given area. And thanks to smartphones and tablets, we’re witnessing an unforeseen explosion in demand for mobile broadband, which relies on spectrum. Smartphones use 24 times more data than traditional “feature phones,” and tablets such as the Apple iPad consume 122 times more data than feature phones. Want to learn more about spectrum? Check out this infographic.