The Federal Communications Commission voted Monday to open up an additional 100MHz of wireless spectrum, a move that should relieve network congestion and allow for faster Wi-Fi.
The piece of the spectrum that is now open for unlicensed use was earlier used by satellite phone companies. The FCC freed up the 100MHz of wireless with a unanimous vote, CNET reported.
Mobile companies are pleased with the change, which should help alleviate congestion for wireless networks. The extra sliver of the wireless spectrum should especially help high-traffic public areas such as conference centers and airports.
The FCC has been looking to change the rules to the wireless spectrum for more than a year, CNET reported. The proposed order actually asked for twice as much: 195MHz of spectrum in the 5GHz band for unlicensed networks. But the Commission's vote to free up 100MHz is a good start for companies looking to offer faster Wi-Fi
"I want to commend the FCC's Chairman, Commissioners, and team of engineers for their swift action," Comcast CTO Tony Werner said in a blog post.
"Today's unanimous decision demonstrates the urgent need to bring more Wi-Fi spectrum to market, as well as the widespread support for making sure the US continues to have best-in-class broadband connections.
"It also shows, as Commissioner [Jessica] Rosenworcel recently declared, that it is time to move on from the tired old arguments that 'pit licensed versus unlicensed,' and that 'we need to choose efficiency over inefficiency, and speed over congestion.'"
Comcast and other companies will use the extra space for Wi-Fi with download speeds of up to 1Gbps, Werner said.
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