Pai Confirms FCC Will Take New Look at 5.9 GHz Band
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said Tuesday at the Wi-Fi World Congress the commission will soon take another look at the 5.9 GHz band. Wi-Fi backers cheered the remarks. Pai has long been expected to circulate a Further NPRM seeking comment (see 1811140061). The FNPRM could come as early as the June 6 commissioners' meeting, industry officials said.
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“Given the swirl of the debate and the vast technological changes that have occurred since the Commission allocated the 5.9 GHz band 20 years ago, I believe that the time has come for the FCC to take a fresh look at this band,” Pai said. “We should open up a rulemaking proceeding, seek comment on various proposals for the band’s future, and use the record that we compile to make a final decision on how the band should be allocated.”
The agency has been looking at sharing the band between Wi-Fi and dedicated short-range communications (DSRC) since 2013 (see 1301160063). Pai suggested several options are on the table. “We could maintain the status quo,” Pai said: “Given the history of and outlook for DSRC, I am quite skeptical that this is a good idea. But we shouldn’t rule it out entirely before we even begin a review of the band’s future.”
Wi-Fi backers want to see the DSRC spectrum, which they say has been little used, available for unlicensed broadband.
The 5.9 GHz band “is the best spectrum band available that can help fulfill our promise of delivering gigabit Wi-Fi and move us closer to achieving the important national goal of delivering ubiquitous broadband to all Americans,” NCTA said. The FCC needs to allocate more spectrum for Wi-Fi, said WifiForward. “There has been no new spectrum for Wi-Fi in the key mid-bands since 2003, but in that time, Wi-Fi has become the lifeblood of our wireless economy, and carries the majority of all internet traffic.”
The announcement is good news, said Michael Calabrese, director of the Wireless Future Program at New America. “Consumers will benefit twice over if the 5.9 GHz band is repurposed for Wi-Fi and vehicle safety signaling is deployed on a different, more appropriate band,” he emailed us. “Just as Wi-Fi makes 4G far more available and affordable for all, 5G for all Americans will depend on extending the current unlicensed band at 5 GHz to create the very wide, high-capacity channels that will ensure every home and business world-class connectivity.”
Repurposing the band for unlicensed use "could be a shot in the arm for both #ruralbroadband and #WiFi,” tweeted Wireless ISP Association President Claude Aiken.