Remarks Of FCC Chairman Ajit Pai to the Broadband India Forum Webinar Celebrating World Wi-Fi Day

We’ve come together to celebrate World Wi-Fi Day, which is [June 20]. You could make the case that every day has been Wi-Fi Day since the pandemic took hold. I think it’s appropriate that the focus of this event is on the power of Wi-Fi to help bridge the digital divide—to connect the unconnected. What is the Federal Communications Commission doing to harness the power of Wi-Fi to bridge the digital divide? In the immediate term, we’ve expanded access to Wi-Fi as part of the FCC’s response to the coronavirus. Looking a bit further into the future, the most important action the FCC has taken recently to promote the development and deployment of Wi-Fi services is our plan for the 6 GHz band. On April 23, the FCC unanimously approved my proposal to make the entire 6 GHz band available for unlicensed use. Sticking in the same neighborhood on the spectrum chart, the FCC is taking a fresh look at the 5.9 GHz band. Specifically, we’ve proposed to make available the lower 45 megahertz of the band for unlicensed uses like Wi-Fi, dedicating the upper 20 megahertz of spectrum for a new vehicle communications technology called C-V2X, and asking whether the remaining 10 megahertz should be allocated to C-V2X or DSRC.

Wrapping up, the United States and India clearly have common interests when it comes to spectrum policy. I look forward to building on today’s dialogue and exchanging ideas on how we can work together to expand Wi-Fi and bridge the digital divide.