Although the Federal Communications Commission's plan has been talked about for years, it got a boost last week with a lobbying campaign from the tech industry. Google and Microsoft told the FCC that additional public WiFi would spur "millions of de­vices that will compose the coming Internet of things," a resounding early endorsement of the nascent policy proposal.

The wireless industry responded with a fierce and well-funded campaign to kill the proposal.

Primary adversaries of the move are AT&T, T-Mobile, Intel and Qualcomm, according to the WaPo. Cisco pleaded with the FCC last week to buyback spectrum space from broadcasters, but rather than enact this plan instead auction that space to commercial enterprises.