The Dynamic Spectrum Alliance (DSA) has congratulated the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on its decision to authorise Automatic Frequency Coordination (AFC) systems in the 6 GHz band to enable standard power devices to access 850 MHz of spectrum and support a wide range of enterprise and consumer broadband services in the US.

AFC systems maximise spectrum availability for unlicensed technologies such as Wi-Fi. By determining channel and transmit power availability at specific locations, AFC systems allow Wi-Fi 7 and Wi-Fi 6E devices to transmit at up to 63 times higher power than those limited to low-power indoor operation, while ensuring protection of incumbent user operation in the 6 GHz band. The FCC’s decision to leverage dynamic spectrum sharing technology and capabilities to manage access to the 6 GHz band by standard power devices will ensure increased range, faster speeds and improved capacity of unlicensed operations. As a result, digital transformation across a range of enterprise and consumer use cases within the US will be achieved.

“The FCC’s decision ensures full deployment of standard power 6 GHz Wi-Fi in the United States will become a reality,” said President of the DSA, Martha Suarez. “As a result, US citizens can benefit from faster, reliable broadband connectivity, no matter where they are located in the country. It has been a long process, but the DSA is delighted with the outcome and applauds the FCC for making this crucial step”.

The decision follows the public notice that was published by the FCC’s Office of Engineering and Technology in August 2023. This laid out the lab testing and the required public trials for AFC systems in the 6 GHz band. Now these AFC systems have successfully passed the testing phase, they have been approved for full commercial operations.

The approval of the AFC systems aligns with the United States’ National Spectrum Strategy, which was announced in November 2023. The strategy aims to advance the country’s leadership globally, while ensuring its citizens benefit from enhanced services relating to advanced wireless technologies. As a result, the FCC’s decision will improve both consumer wireless networks and services found in critical industries such as aviation, transportation, manufacturing, energy and space.