FCC Proposal To Limit Access To 5725-5850 MHz Band 112
New submitter thittesd0375 (1111917) writes New rules adopted by the FCC will greatly limit the amount of bandwidth available in the unlicensed U-NII band used to deliver internet to rural areas. The filters required to comply with the new rules would shrink the available frequencies from 125MHz to only 45MHz. Petitions to reconsider this ruling can be submitted here and previous petitions can be found here.
Re:So who is behind this? (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Stay Down! (Score:2, Informative)
They are actually trying to improve performance by reducing channels.
In particular, we noted that enhanced spectrum use may be possible when devices use a very high bandwidth and the number of usable channels is small. We also noted that the trend for U-NII devices is to operate with ever wider bandwidths such as contained in the new 802.11ac standard.
By reducing channels the spectrum can better accommodate high speed protocols like 802.11ac, which can achieve 500 Mbps in single link systems.
The same thing happened in 2.4GHz 802.11. The radios that prevail today emit over many of the legacy channel numbers to achieve contemporary throughput with "N" systems. There are only 4 non-overlapping channels used in N; 1, 6, 11 and 14. That's why most N radios won't let you pick "3" for instance.
So stop your ignorant kneejerk bellyaching, please. The original story author, this dumbass parent and you mods as well. They aren't selling the "lost" channels to Verizon or something; they're improving a regulation to make it work better. The FCC is the honest broker here.
Re:OP vs Reality (Score:5, Informative)
Finland has a population density of 41 people per square mile. If it were a US state, it would rank 40th in density.
Yet it also has an average internet speed around 5 times faster than the US average.
Re:So who is behind this? (Score:5, Informative)
No, no need to rush.
They just stop the radio from being modifiable by software in such a way the violates the rules. The radio firmware for radios sold in the US just won't let you use those bands at too high of power.
Guess what, they ALREADY WORK LIKE THIS.
Your OSS router software can't make random changes to the radios currently, never has been able to as there are already laws in effect governing these issues.
Some devices allow you to get buy with more than you should, but thats generally an oversight, and easily fixed in the next hardware revision ... as already happens.
This isn't going to take away your precious, no need to get your panties in a knot.