FCC makes a move to lessen Wi-Fi congestion

February 21, 2013

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission has taken the first step toward an expansion of the spectrum available for Wi-Fi, with the agency launching a rulemaking proceeding to open new parts of the 5GHz spectrum to unlicensed uses. The new spectrum could reduce congestion at Wi-Fi hotspots and allow speeds of up to 1 GBps, the FCC said. The FCC did not give a target date for the spectrum to be available for Wi-Fi. With many mobile phone users off-loading data-intensive tasks to Wi-Fi, U.S Wi-Fi spectrum is getting crowded, particularly in heavily populated areas, commissioners said. Mobile users are now off-loading about 33 percent of traffic onto Wi-Fi networks, with that percentage expected to grow significantly, said FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski. The commission voted Wednesday to approve a notice of proposed rulemaking, or NPRM, to look at ways to use 195MHz of the 5GHz spectrum, now occupied by government agencies and other users, for unlicensed Wi-Fi services. The 195MHz would represent a 35 percent increase in the amount of U.S. 5GHz spectrum available for unlicensed devices. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Link: http://www.pcworld.com/article/2028935/fcc-makes-a-move-to-lessen-wi-fi-congestion.html