Senators want dedicated spectrum for Wi-Fi devices

IDG News Service - Two U.S. senators will introduce a bill aimed at assigning portions of the wireless spectrum to wireless Internet devices, which currently operate in unlicensed frequencies, they said today.
Sen. George Allen (R-Va.) and Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) will introduce the bill some time after the new 108th Congress takes office on Jan. 7, the senators said in a joint statement. The two announced their support for such legislation last month (see story), but have now fleshed out the proposal with more details. They have also sent out a "Dear Colleague" letter to other senators hoping to gain support for a draft version of the bill.
If the bill is passed, the Federal Communications Commission would be ordered to dedicate part of the wireless spectrum for use by wireless Internet access devices. The most popular wireless Internet standard, the 802.11b standard, is also known as Wi-Fi.
Specifically, the bill asks that no less than 255 MHz of spectrum below the 6-GHz frequency be allocated for use by unlicensed Wi-Fi devices -- as long as there is no interference with the U.S. Department of Defense's communications.
There is a finite amount of the electromagnetic spectrum available for use by wireless devices, as well as by television, radio and the military.
The FCC licenses spectrum to radio and television stations, and the government uses portions of the spectrum for military communications. But thousands of wireless devices, such as cordless phones, garage door openers and current Wi-Fi devices, operate in the unlicensed spectrum bands.
Wi-Fi devices operate in the unlicensed 2.4-GHz frequency. This frequency is also used by many other wireless devices, and allocating more spectrum to Wi-Fi devices would be one way to avoid interference as the popularity of other 2.4-GHz wireless devices grows, the senators said.
The bill goes further, to require that all wireless Internet devices manufactured after 270 days from the bill's passage "be capable of two-way data packet communication ... be designed and manufactured to maximize spectrum efficiency," according to a working draft of the bill (download PDF).
The growth of broadband Internet will help revive a sluggish economy and spur investment in technology, and wireless Internet connections will help communities such as public schools or rural areas connect to the Internet, the senators said.