FCC to authorize more powerful wireless devices in 6 GHz Wi-Fi band

FCC says new category of devices “can operate outdoors and at higher power.”

The Federal Communications Commission plans to authorize a new category of wireless devices in the 6 GHz Wi-Fi band that will be permitted to operate at higher power levels than currently allowed. The FCC will also consider authorizing higher power levels for certain wireless devices that are only allowed to operate indoors.

The FCC said it scheduled a vote for its January 29 meeting on an order “to create a new category of unlicensed devices… that can operate outdoors and at higher power than previously authorized devices.” These so-called Geofenced variable power (GVP) devices operating on the 6 GHz band will “support high data rates suitable for AR/VR, short-range hotspots, automation, and indoor navigation,” and “overcome limitations of previous device classes by allowing higher power and outdoor mobility,” the FCC said. They will be required to work with geofencing systems to avoid interference with fixed microwave links and radio astronomy observatories.

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr attributed the FCC’s planned action to President Trump in a press release titled, “President Trump Unleashes American Innovation With 6 GHz Win.” That’s consistent with Carr’s relatively new stance that the FCC takes orders from the president, despite his insisting during the Biden era that the FCC must operate independently from the White House.

While many of Carr’s regulatory decisions have been criticized by consumer advocates, the 6 GHz action is an exception. Michael Calabrese, of New America’s Open Technology Institute, told Ars that “increasing the power levels for Wi-Fi connections to peripheral devices such as AR/VR is a big win for consumers” and a change that has been “long advocated by the Wi-Fi community.”

Carr said that the FCC “will vote on an order that expands unlicensed operations in the 6 GHz band so that consumers can benefit from better, faster Wi-Fi and an entirely new generation of wireless devices—from AR/VR and IoT to a range of innovative smart devices. [It] will do so through a set of forward-looking regulations that allow devices to operate at higher power while protecting incumbent users, including through geofencing systems.”

GVP device power limits will be “up to 11 dBm/MHz PSD and 24 dBm EIRP,” the FCC said. The FCC will also evaluate ideas to boost the power of low-power indoor devices sometime in the future. The FCC said it “will seek comment on proposals that could provide more utility for unlicensed devices in the 6 GHz band,” including “a proposal to allow composite standard-power and LPI access points to operate with additional power under certain circumstances.”

A draft of the order said the planned “additional power will enable composite standard-power/LPI access points to increase indoor coverage and provide more versatility to American consumers.” The FCC will also seek comment on a proposal to authorize LPI access points on cruise ships.

Calabrese said that increasing power for indoor-only devices would be a big deal because “it’s long been recognized that the indoor-only power limits are overly restrictive.” The Open Technology Institute and over a dozen other advocacy groups urged the FCC to make this change in an August 2023 letter to then-Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel.

“We’ve pushed hard for that and were very disappointed that the Rosenworcel FCC failed to get it done,” Calabrese said.

Harold Feld of Public Knowledge, another group that signed the August 2023 letter, welcomed the FCC plan and said more actions are needed to promote use of unlicensed spectrum. While much of the public spectrum is licensed for the exclusive use of individual wireless carriers, Wi-Fi and similar services operate on unlicensed spectrum that is shared by many users.