FCC Pursues More Unlicensed Wi-Fi Spectrum But Open Issues Remain

With unlicensed Wi-Fi spectrum becoming increasingly crowded, equipment manufacturers and service providers are pushing to make more spectrum available on an unlicensed basis -- and while substantial progress has been made on that front, more work remains, according to investor research firm Bernstein.

Associated partner Paul Margie at DC law firm Harris, Wiltshire & Grannis shed light on several open issues – including how much unlicensed spectrum is likely to be made available through the voluntary TV broadcast spectrum auction in the 600 MHz band, the three-tier plan that the FCC has proposed for unlicensed spectrum in the 3.5 GHz band, and Globalstar’s proposal for a private Wi-Fi network in the 2.4 GHz band. As Margie explained, those are three of the four bands -- including the 5 GHz band -- where additional spectrum could be made available to support Wi-Fi or similar offerings.