Chairman Brendan Carr said the FCC will act this month to enhance unlicensed use in the 6 GHz band.
“The FCC will vote to create a new category of unlicensed devices — GVP devices — that can operate outdoors and at higher power than previously authorized devices,” according to the announcement from his office, headlined “President Trump Unleashes American Innovation With 6 GHz Win.”
The announcement said the action “promises more jaw-dropping innovations and massive consumer benefits for years to come, driving growth in wireless, IoT and related industries.”
This proposal has been pushed by tech companies Apple, Broadcom, Google, Intel, Meta, Microsoft and Qualcomm. In 2024 the Consumer Technology Association told the FCC it supported the idea.
The FCC said GVP devices will support high data rates suitable for AR/VR, short-range hotspots, automation and indoor navigation. These devices, it said, “will overcome limitations of previous device classes by allowing higher power and outdoor mobility.”
Carr said in the announcement that consumers will benefit from better, faster and more affordable wireless services. He said the plan “enables consumers to benefit from supercharged Wi-Fi and a new generation of wireless devices from AR/VR and IoT to a range of innovative smart devices.”
The commission provided this explanation of the technology:
“Geofenced variable power (GVP) devices promise to overcome technical and regulatory constraints of other low-power devices such as low-power indoor (LPI) and very low-power (VLP) devices. GVP devices offer data rates suitable for reality/virtual reality, short-range hotspots, automation processes and indoor location and navigation because they operate at significantly higher power than VLP devices.
“At the same time, GVP devices need not be restricted indoors, as is the case with LPI. These benefits will be made possible by restricting GVP devices from operating in exclusion zones on certain frequencies to protect incumbent licensed services from any significant risk of harmful interference.”
In addition to the pending order to create a new category of GVP devices, the FCC said, it will seek comment on proposals that could provide more utility for unlicensed devices in the 6 GHz band.
“Specifically, the FCC would seek comment on a proposal to allow composite standard-power and LPI access points to operate with additional power under certain circumstances, and a proposal to permit LPI access points to operate on cruise ships.”
[Read an Intel post about the various bands used for wireless services.]
