U.S. regulators approved measures this week to free up more spectrum for Wi-Fi and wireless broadband use in a move they hope will reduce spectrum congestion and boost the development of new, faster Wi-Fi technology.
In a decision made Monday, the Federal Communications Commission voted unanimously to make an additional 100 MHz of spectrum accessible to Wi-Fi technology for use in homes and congested public areas like convention centers and airports. The agency also removed restrictions on indoor-only use of Wi-Fi devices and authorized an increase in the amount of power these devices can use in the 5.15 to 5.25 GHz band of spectrum.
This decision, says the FCC, “will allow [Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure] U-NII devices to better integrate with other unlicensed portions of the 5 GHz band to offer faster speeds and reduce congestion at crowded Wi-Fi hot spots such as airports and convention centers.”
The FCC also modified several technical rules in order to “improve protection for incumbent systems by requiring manufacturers to secure their devices against illegal modification which could cause interference to incumbent users in the band.”
