The Federal Communications Commission has released a tool to help the public figure out how frequencies are allocated and used.

Among other features, the so-called Spectrum Dashboard allows users to identify license holders and produce maps of geographical service areas for specific licenses. It also shows what spectrum is available county by county.

The initial version released this week covers 225 MHz to 3.7 GHz, spectrum allocations potentially usable for mobile broadband.

"The Spectrum Dashboard will increase transparency into how radio spectrum is being used in the United States," the commission stated. "In conjunction with the release of the National Broadband Plan, the Spectrum Dashboard provides a resource for stakeholders who want to participate in the deployment of wireless broadband throughout the nation."

The site contains search, mapping and data download capabilities for licenses in the following services in that range: 700 MHz Band; Advanced Wireless Service; Broadband Personal Communications Service; Broadband Radio Service; Educational Broadband Service; Cellular; 2.3 GHz Wireless Communications Service; Full-Power TV Broadcast; and Mobile Satellite Services.

Among the features, users can access raw licensing data associated with a search in a format that allows for import into spreadsheets and other software. You can explore the dashboard here.

This is part of the FCC's "reboot.fcc.gov" initiative launched under Chairman Julius Genachowski.