Pai Expected to Seek April Vote on Opening 6 GHz Band for Wi-Fi Sharing

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai is expected to announce Wednesday he will seek a vote at the April 23 commissioners’ meeting on an order that would open the 6 GHz band to sharing with Wi-Fi, industry and FCC officials said in interviews. The issue has gotten heavy lobbying in recent weeks. Much recent debate involved when the FCC will require automatic frequency coordination (AFC) or allow low-level use without. The agency is expected to post the draft item Thursday. “The chairman seems determined to move ahead on this, which the FCC should since the current crisis is demonstrating just how critical it is to address all aspects of the home connectivity crunch,” said Michael Calabrese, director of the Wireless Future Program at New America. “Americans are learning fast that a high-speed fixed broadband connection doesn’t do much good if your Wi-Fi doesn’t have the capacity to distribute that connectivity to multiple users for high-bandwidth uses such as video conferencing and streaming video.” The commission didn’t comment Tuesday. Carriers made a push to get the FCC to change course and license some of the band for 5G. That doesn’t appear to have the support of commissioners, said Tom Struble, R Street Institute tech policy manager. “They may have come too late.” Industry partners “will want more of what they didn't get,” emailed Shane Tews of the American Enterprise Institute. As consumers, it “would be a win for us to have both better Wi-Fi and more mobile spectrum,” she said. Studies show indoor Wi-Fi authorized at an 8 dBm/MHz radiated power spectral density isn’t an interference threat, CableLabs said. Three-fourths of wireless traffic and more than half of internet traffic move over Wi-Fi, said the cable R&D group in a filing posted Monday in docket 18-295. Representatives of CTIA and member companies warned about the “impact that unlicensed indoor operations will have on nearby Fixed Service point-to-point receivers,” in a call with Office of Engineering and Technology staff. The association was joined by AT&T, Sprint, U.S. Cellular and Verizon. Consider licensing part of the band, Verizon asked. “Seeking additional comment on licensed use for some portion of the band need not delay action on unlicensed." IRobot said the FCC should partition the band, allowing Wi-Fi while “preserving a portion” for licensed use and unlicensed ultra-wideband devices.