British telecom regulator Ofcom plans to increase the amount of spectrum available for Wi-Fi in the 5 GHz band – for offering better wireless broadband for consumers.
Many Wi-Fi routers in the UK currently use a part of the spectrum called the 2.4 GHz band, which is becoming increasingly congested and can impair broadband performance. Many people have newer broadband routers, which use not only the 2.4 GHz band, but also the 5 GHz band – which has much more spectrum and is less congested.
Ofcom has decided to open up an additional sub-band within the 5.8 GHz section of the 5 GHz band.
The extra sub-band will result in 125 MHz more spectrum. This will allow for two more 80MHz channels to accommodate data-hungry applications. These extra channels are already being used in other countries, including the US.
Ofcom is consulting with UK stakeholders on proposed regulations which will allow Wi-Fi use in this band. The making of the new regulations will be contingent on comments the European Commission may have on the technical parameters we propose to apply to the use of the band. The closing date for responses to this consultation document is 11 April 2017.
