The FCC posted this announcement to Twitter about an hour ago
"The FCC has adopted new rules for the 6 GHz band, unleashing 1,200 megahertz to boost #WiFi and other unlicensed uses to usher in faster, more efficient broadband connections for the American people. "
Cnet had the first article up and it didn't take long for Wi-Fi companies to start sending out email blasts.
From Broadcom:
The following quote can be attributed to Vijay Nagarajan, Vice President of Marketing for the Wireless Communications and Connectivity Division at Broadcom: “Today’s vote on Chairman Ajit Pai’s momentous proposal to designate 1,200 MHz of spectrum for unlicensed wireless use such as Wi-Fi in the 6 GHz band is a definitive moment in US wireless history. It is also a manifestation of the many years of hard work led by Broadcom and industry partners. At Broadcom, we are thankful for the Chairman and his fellow Commissioners’ leadership in pushing forward a perfectly balanced proposal designed to benefit all Americans. This is the most substantive decision any Commission has made on unlicensed spectrum in almost 25 years and one that will empower our wireless experiences for the next 20 years.”
From Commscope
Initial CommScope statement: “CommScope commends Chairman Pai and the FCC for their action making the 6 GHz band available for unlicensed operation. Along with initiatives such as CBRS and C-Band, the Commission’s actions are providing the essential mid-band spectrum (licensed, unlicensed, and shared) that enable the U.S. to lead the transition into the 5G era. This decisive move by the FCC will give Wi-Fi and other unlicensed services the capacity and capability to drive new and innovative applications.” – Morgan Kurk, Chief Technology Officer, CommScope
RUCKUS/Carrier Wi-Fi: “With its adjacency to 5 GHz, greater availability of wider channel sizes, and accessibility to clear spectrum, the advent of Wi-Fi 6E is a watershed moment for the wireless industry. Wi-Fi 6E access points can deliver an improved mobility experience while supporting more concurrent Wi-Fi users in dense and congested environments. Making the 6 GHz band available for Wi-Fi with further enable a wider range of enterprise use cases, including ultra-high-definition live video streaming and mobile AR/VR applications.” – Bart Giordano, senior vice president, Venue and Campus Networks, CommScope.
Home/CPE Wi-Fi: “The Commission’s action is particularly timely given the increasing demands on residential Wi-Fi. Due to COVID-19, many Americans are now working and learning from home. We and our service provider partners have recently observed dramatic increases in residential broadband traffic, most of which is ultimately delivered over a Wi-Fi connection.” – Ken Haase, vice president, Global Telco Broadband Devices, Home Networks Business Segment, CommScope
Home/CPE Wi-Fi: “We would like to commend Chairman Pai and the FCC for this allocation of new spectrum for Wi-Fi. This spectrum accelerates Wi-Fi 6 efficiencies, allowing a 6E platform to deliver high availability and deterministic services over unlicensed bandwidth immediately for every citizen of the U.S. In the home, these easily accessible high bandwidth and low latency services will help power the U.S. economy with high speed and low latency connectivity -- enabling enhanced remote work capability, entertainment, health management and tele-education. In these extreme times of COVID-19 lockdowns, we are seeing the increasing importance of always on high-bandwidth, reliable and accessible connectivity. This new spectrum will drive a Wi-Fi platform that spurs innovation in new, high value solutions for the wireless home and economy.” – Charles Cheevers,Chief Technology Officer, Home Networks Business Segment, CommScope
Comsearch: “6 GHz can help meet the Wi-Fi spectrum shortage by providing contiguous spectrum blocks to accommodate 14 additional 80 MHz channels and 7 additional 160 MHz channels. We look forward to leveraging our decades of spectrum management experience including TV whitespace (TVWS) and Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) in developing the Automatic Frequency Coordination (AFC) system to ensure protection of incumbents now that 6 GHz has been made available for unlicensed use.” – Mark Gibson, director of Business Development, CommScope
This should put the nail in the coffin for Wi-Fi 6 router sales. Unless you really, really just have to have a Wi-Fi 6 router now, you really should spend as little as possible.
You should expect the first consumer 6E routers in time for this year's holiday buying season, assuming production isn't sidelined by Covid-19 supply line problems.
6E devices may take a bit longer. Is everyone ready to buy a new smartphone already?
"The FCC has adopted new rules for the 6 GHz band, unleashing 1,200 megahertz to boost #WiFi and other unlicensed uses to usher in faster, more efficient broadband connections for the American people. "
Cnet had the first article up and it didn't take long for Wi-Fi companies to start sending out email blasts.
From Broadcom:
The following quote can be attributed to Vijay Nagarajan, Vice President of Marketing for the Wireless Communications and Connectivity Division at Broadcom: “Today’s vote on Chairman Ajit Pai’s momentous proposal to designate 1,200 MHz of spectrum for unlicensed wireless use such as Wi-Fi in the 6 GHz band is a definitive moment in US wireless history. It is also a manifestation of the many years of hard work led by Broadcom and industry partners. At Broadcom, we are thankful for the Chairman and his fellow Commissioners’ leadership in pushing forward a perfectly balanced proposal designed to benefit all Americans. This is the most substantive decision any Commission has made on unlicensed spectrum in almost 25 years and one that will empower our wireless experiences for the next 20 years.”
From Commscope
Initial CommScope statement: “CommScope commends Chairman Pai and the FCC for their action making the 6 GHz band available for unlicensed operation. Along with initiatives such as CBRS and C-Band, the Commission’s actions are providing the essential mid-band spectrum (licensed, unlicensed, and shared) that enable the U.S. to lead the transition into the 5G era. This decisive move by the FCC will give Wi-Fi and other unlicensed services the capacity and capability to drive new and innovative applications.” – Morgan Kurk, Chief Technology Officer, CommScope
RUCKUS/Carrier Wi-Fi: “With its adjacency to 5 GHz, greater availability of wider channel sizes, and accessibility to clear spectrum, the advent of Wi-Fi 6E is a watershed moment for the wireless industry. Wi-Fi 6E access points can deliver an improved mobility experience while supporting more concurrent Wi-Fi users in dense and congested environments. Making the 6 GHz band available for Wi-Fi with further enable a wider range of enterprise use cases, including ultra-high-definition live video streaming and mobile AR/VR applications.” – Bart Giordano, senior vice president, Venue and Campus Networks, CommScope.
Home/CPE Wi-Fi: “The Commission’s action is particularly timely given the increasing demands on residential Wi-Fi. Due to COVID-19, many Americans are now working and learning from home. We and our service provider partners have recently observed dramatic increases in residential broadband traffic, most of which is ultimately delivered over a Wi-Fi connection.” – Ken Haase, vice president, Global Telco Broadband Devices, Home Networks Business Segment, CommScope
Home/CPE Wi-Fi: “We would like to commend Chairman Pai and the FCC for this allocation of new spectrum for Wi-Fi. This spectrum accelerates Wi-Fi 6 efficiencies, allowing a 6E platform to deliver high availability and deterministic services over unlicensed bandwidth immediately for every citizen of the U.S. In the home, these easily accessible high bandwidth and low latency services will help power the U.S. economy with high speed and low latency connectivity -- enabling enhanced remote work capability, entertainment, health management and tele-education. In these extreme times of COVID-19 lockdowns, we are seeing the increasing importance of always on high-bandwidth, reliable and accessible connectivity. This new spectrum will drive a Wi-Fi platform that spurs innovation in new, high value solutions for the wireless home and economy.” – Charles Cheevers,Chief Technology Officer, Home Networks Business Segment, CommScope
Comsearch: “6 GHz can help meet the Wi-Fi spectrum shortage by providing contiguous spectrum blocks to accommodate 14 additional 80 MHz channels and 7 additional 160 MHz channels. We look forward to leveraging our decades of spectrum management experience including TV whitespace (TVWS) and Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) in developing the Automatic Frequency Coordination (AFC) system to ensure protection of incumbents now that 6 GHz has been made available for unlicensed use.” – Mark Gibson, director of Business Development, CommScope
This should put the nail in the coffin for Wi-Fi 6 router sales. Unless you really, really just have to have a Wi-Fi 6 router now, you really should spend as little as possible.
You should expect the first consumer 6E routers in time for this year's holiday buying season, assuming production isn't sidelined by Covid-19 supply line problems.
6E devices may take a bit longer. Is everyone ready to buy a new smartphone already?
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