By John Eggerton, Multichannel News, 3-8-21
The Biden and Trump Justice Departments have at least one thing in common: Both support opening up the entire 6-GHz band for WiFi, a move pushed by cable operators and computer companies.
The Federal Communications Commission, under then-chairman Ajit Pai, voted unanimously last April to allow all 1,200 megahertz of the 6-gigahertz band to be shared with unlicensed WiFi, the regulator’s latest move in freeing up more spectrum for connecting 5G in-home devices – to enable video streaming and video calls – and for connecting Internet of things (IoT) devices to the web.
The WiFi Forward coalition, whose members include NCTA–The Internet & Television Association and Google, has said that opening up the GHz band, combined with the FCC’s plan to free up 5.9 GHz spectrum, also for unlicensed WiFi, will add at least $183.44 billion to the U.S. economy over the next five years. » Read More