FCC Wins Court Battle to Repurpose Auto Safety Spectrum for Wi-Fi

The Federal Communications Commission won an important battle in a fight to free up more unlicensed wireless spectrum for Wi-Fi devices. A federal appeals court on August 12 sided with the FCC in its decision to reallocate a big chunk of key spectrum for an expansion of unlicensed Wi-Fi use. The spectrum had previously been set aside for auto safety. The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia rejected a legal challenge from the Intelligent Transportation Society of America and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials seeking to reverse the FCC's 2020 decision to repurpose about 60 percent of the 5.9GHz band spectrum block for unlicensed indoor use to help improve speeds and reduce congestion on 5GHz Wi-Fi networks. The FCC voted unanimously in 2020 on a bipartisan basis to free up the spectrum, which is adjacent to existing unlicensed spectrum in the 5.8GHz band. Freeing up this neighboring spectrum makes it possible for existing equipment to support gigabit Wi-Fi, experts say. This will greatly improve the performance and capacity of Wi-Fi, enabling new applications, such as telemedicine.