Ofcom UK Opens 6GHz Radio Band for Use in Faster Home Wi-Fi

The UK telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has today made it possible for future home WiFi networks to harness 500MHz of radio spectrum frequency in the new 6GHz band, which will significantly boost the speed of licence-exempt indoor home wireless networks (i.e. via the Wi-Fi 6/6E – 802.11ax standard).

The latest 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6) standard promises theoretical peak data speeds of 10Gbps (Gigabits per second) via the combined 2.4GHz and 5GHz radio spectrum bands, as well as better management of spectrum in congested environments, faster latency, improved power efficiency and various other changes (see our summary). But the wider industry is now moving to add the 6GHz band to this WiFi standard via future updates (here).

The 6GHz band, being of a higher frequency than the others, will of course have a lower level of coverage than the 5GHz one due to its weaker signal, but the extra spectrum also allows more space for data (i.e. significantly faster speeds). At the same time this lower coverage should make 6GHz signals more secure for homes and reduce the negative impact from congestion via competing local WiFi signals.

Ofcom has also made the change available to other RLAN devices on a licence-exempt basis, which support Very Low Power (VLP) outdoor use.

Ofcom’s Statement

• Make the lower 6 GHz band (5925-6425 MHz) available for Wi-Fi and other RLAN technologies.
Opening this band will make more channels available, increase capacity and reduce congestion in existing bands caused by large numbers of devices.

• The release of this spectrum will also enable very low power (VLP) outdoor use.
This will enable the development of new, innovative applications.

• Remove the Dynamic Frequency Selection (DFS) requirements from channels used by Wi-Fi in the 5.8 GHz band (5725-5850 MHz).
DFS requires a router to scan for radars and to switch channel if suspected radar transmissions are detected. DFS can therefore represent a constraint for equipment manufacturers regarding quality of service and throughput as well as being the cause of connection delays for users. We are amending the requirements on this band on the basis that the risk of undue interference from indoor Wi-Fi use is extremely low. The removal of DFS will increase its use for indoor wireless applications and help reduce congestion in other bands.

The question now is how long we’ll have to wait before the first 6GHz supporting broadband routers, adapters and other devices start to enter the UK market. In theory this shouldn’t take too long as the key elements are already present via the existing 802.11ax standard, but new hardware always has to go through a lot of tweaking and testing before it reaches the market.