Time Warner Cable anxious to exploit expanded 5 GHz access for 'community Wi-Fi'

Two Federal Communications Commission waivers being sought by Time Warner Cable reveal the cable operator is chomping at the bit to make use of the 100 MHz of 5 GHz U-NII-1 band spectrum that the commission voted in March to open up for broad, unlicensed Wi-Fi use.

The March order eliminated a rule that had prohibited outdoor Wi-Fi operations in the U-NII-1 band and also increased allowable power levels in the band. The commission's order allows the use, under certain conditions, of existing Wi-Fi equipment designed to operate in the commonly used U-NII-3 band (5.725-5.825 MHz) in the newly opened U-NII-1 band (5150-5250 MHz.)

The FCC's decision was heralded as a significant shot in the arm for service providers, cable MSOs in particular, looking to push more data traffic to Wi-Fi. And Time Warner has wasted little time jumping on the opportunity.

The company filed two waiver requests on July 1. One seeks authority to operate 20,000 existing, non-compliant U-NII-3 access points in the U-NII-1 band as allowed by the FCC's order. A second, supplemental waiver request seeks permission to operate up to 10,000 new, non-compliant U-NII-3 devices in the U-NII-1 band as well.