FCC Votes to Boost Power Levels in the 6GHz Band

By James Erwin

At today’s open meeting, the FCC voted to intensify unlicensed use of the 6GHz band. This is a positive move for innovation that will help boost signals for WiFi and stronger infrastructure for cutting-edge technology.

At the Commission’s January open meeting, this item will be considered alongside a slew of others that will continue Chairman Brendan Carr’s drive for deregulatory policies that foster greater innovation. The chief example has so far been Delete, Delete, Delete, a crusade against obsolete, unnecessary, and restrictive regulations left over from the FCC’s long history of attempting to manage a dynamic economic sector.

Not all reforms involve simply deleting text from the Federal Register. Statute often limits how far the FCC can go in reducing legacy barriers, so many of initiatives under Chairman Carr have been rule changes without a full repeal of statutorily-mandated controls on private enterprise. Broadcast ownership rules, for example, were imposed by statute in the 1940s and updated in the 1990s. Under current law, the FCC may relax these in its quadrennial reviews of the broadcast ownership landscape, but may not eliminate them entirely. In these cases, agencies like the FCC adjust regulations to encourage more investment and innovation rather than deleting them in their entirety.

This proceeding, passed unanimously by the Commission this morning, is one such example. The affected spectrum in the 6GHz band is already marked for unlicensed use. Once bands are designated for unlicensed use, low-power devices like WiFi routers can be calibrated to use its frequencies for connectivity in relatively small areas, as small as a small apartment. Because these devices are commercially available and can never be reliably recalled and turned off, unlicensed spectrum cannot be licensed for auction. The frequencies are essentially off the market forever and will be used for low-powered devices in perpetuity.

With this in mind, the FCC should allow the best use of this permanently unlicensed spectrum. The proceeding adopted today will enable router manufacturers to boost the strength of their signals, powering next generation WiFi. The FCC cannot for practical reasons eliminate the limit on power levels in this band; the agency’s chief purpose is to prevent signals from interfering with one another by broadcasting on the same frequency. What it can do is lift the limit on power levels to keep up with technology as best as an agency can.

Unlicensed spectrum therefore cannot be a free-for-all – some limit on power levels is necessary to ensure the routers work. In demonstrating flexibility and experimentation around what this limit should be, the FCC is responding to market realities and encouraging innovations that benefit consumers. Boosted power levels allow you to stay on WiFi if you step outside to your front yard. They will be especially helpful in supporting the data transfers that power artificial intelligence and support augmented reality and virtual reality innovations. One of the most immediate applications will be to allow you to use your backyard for WiFi-powered VR use. All of this will be beneficial to consumers.

Overall, Brendan Carr has done a remarkably good job updating regulations to keep pace with technological improvements. Where statute or practicality prevents the total elimination of legacy regulation, the Chairman has pushed the FCC to the best versions of the rules it must impose.