CTA urges FCC to continue 6GHz rollout
Details
Joseph O'Halloran
| 05 February 2021
With the liberation of the 6GHz spectrum potentially providing a boom for the CE industry, the US Consumer Technology Association (CTA) has submitted a letter to comms regulator Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to ignore calls to halt the equipment certification process for 6GHz unlicensed devices.
Wifi getty homeworker 5Feb2021
In April 2020 US telecoms and broadcast regulator the FCC circulated draft rules permitting unlicensed devices to operate in the 6GHz band. Chairman Ajit Pai proposed to make 1,200MHz of spectrum available for use for unlicensed devices, which would share the spectrum with incumbent licensed services under rules crafted to protect the latter and to support both wireless operation types.

US businesses had lobbied the FCC for such regulation, trying to persuade the commission that such a large unlicensed allocation with seven 160MHz channels would have a dramatic impact on a number of industries. The new standard could potentially bring nearly six times the total capacity in both 2.4 and 5 GHz, seven contiguous 160 MHz channels, and less interference from legacy Wi-Fi devices. This is said to translate to multigigabit Wi-Fi speeds and more devices performing optimally on a Wi-Fi network at once.

Consumer electronics trade and communications spectrum bodies, wireless broadband trade associations, and portable device manufacturers, such as those represented by the CTA, applauded the move effectively ushering in the age of Wi-Fi 6E. It was seen as a watershed moment that for innovation that would no less than supercharge connectivity in basically all application areas such as remote education, telemedicine, work and entertainment.

Yet the FCC has now been lobbied by several parties asking that it immediately pause any additional equipment certification approvals for 6 GHz unlicensed low-power indoor device pending the outcome of more testing and further review in order to “demonstrate that unlicensed devices can coexist with incumbent fixed-microwave licensees in the 6 GHz band.

The CTA warned that such a “misguided” proposal threatened the FCC’s role that the equipment-certification process plays in advancing technological innovation, far beyond the context of the 6 GHz proceeding.

It’s letter stated: “CTA members and other equipment manufacturers of all kinds, using bands across the radiofrequency spectrum, depend on a predictable, reliable and timely FCC equipment certification process as a neutral venue for demonstrating compliance with Commission rules before marketing products. The FCC Laboratory is a model for equipment certification systems around the world and plays a central role in advancing US competitiveness and supporting innovation.”

Moreover, in the letter the CTA expressed concern that undermining the certification process by allowing it to become another forum for challenging FCC rulemaking decisions would deter investment, increase costs to consumers and jeopardise the US position as a global leader in innovation and development of devices that improve the lives of Americans. “This is not an invitation the Commission should accept, particularly now, as the Covid-19 pandemic has only increased Americans’ reliance on wireless devices as a vital link for school, work and medical care,” it added.