UPDATE The FCC adopted new rules to expand very low power (VLP) device operations across all 1,200 megahertz of the 6 GHz band alongside other unlicensed and WiFi-enabled devices. The agency has previously expanded unlicensed use between 5.925 and 7.125 GHz, Inside Towers reported, which officials say helped to usher in WiFi 6E, set the stage for WiFi 7, and support the growth of the Internet of Things.
VLP devices operate at very low power across short distances and provide very high connection speeds, which are ideal for the types of high-data rate cutting-edge applications, according to the Commission. The FCC says its actions in the 6 GHz band will spur innovation by providing more capacity for emerging technologies and applications, such as augmented reality and virtual reality, in-car connectivity, wearable on-body devices, healthcare monitoring, short-range mobile hotspots, high accuracy location and navigation, and automation.
During the 5-0 vote, FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said she thinks of unlicensed spectrum “as an invisible force in our economy. WiFi alone will foster $769 billion in economic growth in 2024,” said Rosenworcel. “That number is projected to rise 21 percent in 2025 and as high as 67 percent by 2027 when the latest version of WiFi will be available in millions of devices.”
Rosenworcel said it was all made possible more than three decades ago “when creative engineers at this agency challenged the status quo by suggesting that spectrum that was not licensed could be put to use for all. So the FCC opened a handful of underused frequencies—airwaves that were widely viewed as ‘garbage bands’—to anyone who followed some basic technical rules. Unlicensed spectrum was born.”
The Report and Order permits the VLP class of unlicensed devices to operate across 350 MHz of spectrum in the U-NII-6 (6.425-6.525 GHz) and U-NII-8 (6.875-7.125 GHz) portions of the 6 GHz band at the same power levels and technical/operational protections as recently approved for the U-NII-5 (5.925-6.425 GHz) and U-NII-7 (6.525-6.875 GHz) bands. Officials say the new rules will protect incumbent licensed services that also operate in the band.
These VLP devices will have no restriction on locations where they may operate and will not be required to operate under the control of an automatic frequency coordination system, according to the agency. To ensure the risk of interference remains insignificant, the devices will be required to employ a contention-based protocol and implement transmit power control while prohibited from operating as part of a fixed outdoor infrastructure.
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
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