FCC proposes freeing up more Wi-Fi spectrum on the 5GHz band

In a move that’s sure to cheer everyone who likes having more unlicensed Wi-Fi spectrum, the Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday announced that it wants to follow chairman Julius Genachowski’s plan to free up a 195MHz chunk of spectrum on the 5GHz band for unlicensed Wi-Fi use. The FCC says that freeing up the new spectrum will “provide access to additional contiguous spectrum with consistent technical requirements, allowing unlicensed devices to use wider bandwidth channels, leading to faster speeds.”

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Somewhat relatedly, AllThingsD reports that the FCC has approved new guidelines that will allow for the use of cell phone signal boosters that should improve call quality for mobile users. While signal booster manufacturers won’t receive their own licenses to operate on carrier spectrum, they will be allowed to use it if they meet certain specifications that guarantee they won’t interfere with carriers’ service.

This article was originally published on BGR.com