The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently voted to resolve long-term planning issues related to the future of the US "intermediate frequency" radio spectrum.

In the vote, the US Federal Communications Commission decided to enable the 3.5GHz band for 5G networks and voted to extend the 6GHz band to next-generation WiFi devices.

美國聯(lián)邦通信委員會主席 Ajit Pai（圖片來源：venturebeat）

In general, the Federal Communications Commission has begun to prepare for the speed upgrade of mobile devices and wireless routers.

The official commercialization of 5G networks is getting closer and closer, and the opening of the 3.5GHz band is particularly important.

Previously, the 3.550-3.700 GHz band was reserved for use by the US Navy radar, but the US Navy did not use it at all locations and times.

As a result, the US Federal Communications Commission has divided 15 channels in this band, created seven “priority access licenses” and provided eight general access rights, and the US Navy can prioritize the use of this band anytime, anywhere.

Although the details of the 3.5 GHz band are not important to most people, its enabling allows operators to have a large number of mid-range spectrum in 5G networks.

Researchers in Europe and Asia, as well as regulators, have identified the 3.5 GHz band as the ideal choice for 5G networks because it provides the perfect combination of wireless signal coverage, wall penetration and bandwidth.

In terms of WiFi, the voting in the 6GHz band is not even controversial. The current WiFi network operates primarily in two radio bands (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz), and a few recent routers also offer 60 GHz "WiGig" technology support.

Looking ahead, the WiFi Alliance seems to be focusing on 2.4GHz and 5GHz solutions, but hopes to enable 6GHz spectrum so that WiFi networks can have more bandwidth.

After the vote was over, the WiFi Alliance immediately praised the results. Alex Roytblat, senior director of the alliance, said: "Today, WiFi is more than ever providing a lot of data traffic. WiFi 6 is designed to support these growing data throughput requirements and requires additional spectrum access to accommodate a wider range of Applications and other technological innovations. That's why accessing the 6GHz band is so important to the future of WiFi."

However, the FCC hopes to minimize the effects of signal overlap conflicts between previous generation devices and future devices. After application in the 6 GHz band, the power of indoor devices may be limited to prevent them from interfering with outdoor signals.