Who owns the airwaves?

Answer 1

Technically, the airwaves are owned by the people of the United States. The 'people' of the US, through the federal government in Washington, have decided that administration of that ownership shall be given to the Federal Communications Commission, pursuant to the Communications Act of 1934 and subsequent amendments and other such appropriate laws. For technical reasons, this is to prevent multiple broadcasters from attempting to broadcast on the same wavelength, which happened early on in the infancy of broadcasting. For financial reasons, it was done to protect advertisers who depend on having their ads heard on broadcasts which are not 'drowned' by powerful transmitters which displace noise on neighboring frequencies, perhaps including that of the advertiser who paid for the ad. And for the public sake so that each time we tune into a particular frequency, we will be assured the entity we expect to find there will be there, will be able to broadcast on that frequency and listeners/viewers will be able to hear/view that broadcaster, subject only to constraints of distance from the transmitter, ability of the receiving unit and quality of the transmission and reception.

Answer 2

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