How Will the Latest Wi-Fi Tech Affect Local Areas?

Recently the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit ruled that the Federal Communications Commission doesn’t have to delay opening up the 6 Gigahertz spectrum band for unlicensed Wi-Fi. The court’s decision was in response to a request from public safety and utility organizations, as well as other groups such as AT&T, to grant a stay to the FCC order to open up the 6GHz band. These groups contend that the FCC’s decision could result in interference to the critical operations of entities that currently rely on that particular band.  The court said it will still consider the case against the FCC’s order, despite its denial of the request to postpone the order. 

The promise of 6Ghz Wi-Fi is counterbalanced by an increased risk of interference to utility and public safety activities, said Rob Thormeyer, a spokesperson for Utilities Technology Council (UTC), which filed a petition against the FCC. “[The FCC’s decision] is sort of an unforced error,” Thormeyer said. “We’re creating this new risk that didn’t exist before, and that only exists because of this decision. We believe that there are other spectrum bands that the FCC could have targeted for Wi-Fi use.”