The FCC approved rules today for the sale of some juicy bandwidth, voting to require “open access” to at least some of the megahertz, but stopping short of the request from some consumer groups and Google that some of it be reserved to be sold wholesale.

The commission approved a much-debated ”open access” provision, pushed by FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, a Republican, and supported by the two Democrats, that will allow customers to use whatever phone and software they want on about one-third of the network to be auctioned.

That rule seems to have some small tinge of consumer protection, but it’s not enough, and the big telcos and cable companies will probably buy it all up. Sadly, come 2011 or so, these waves will probably be penetrating your walls (and bodies) in no more of a free and open way than they are now.

”It’s a small benefit way off in the future that conceals a really blown opportunity to bring prices dramatically down and increase broadband speeds enormously through competition,” said Gene Kimmelman, vice president for federal affairs for Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports magazine.

So—The news isn’t as bad as it could have been. Yay!