EC to open spectrum in 5 GHz band

eircomtribunal

Quote from the EC web site

Why a Commission Decision on this subject?

Taking into account the potential congestion in the existing 2.4 GHz frequency band, it is important for industry to be given the legal certainty that a substantial amount of spectrum will be made available for WAS/RLANs throughout the European Union in a harmonised way. The new Commission Decision will ensure that sufficient spectrum is soon made available in all Member States in the 5 GHz range (5150-5350 MHz and 5470-5725 MHz) to accommodate new equipment, thus giving impetus to new innovative services and access to broadband. As well as encouraging the uptake of innovative services, the main objective of this action is to ensure the creation of a single market for devices using Wi-Fi, such as laptops.

The RLAN systems using the new bands will be faster than existing Wi-Fi (typically 54 Mbit/s instead of 11 Mbit/s). Rather than being a band open to any application, like 2.4 GHz, the 5 GHz frequency bands are to be shared by RLAN with a limited number of other radio spectrum users, namely military and satellite services. This gives RLAN a better operating environment, but required some coordinated technical coexistence criteria, which were agreed at the World Radiocommunications Conference of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in 2003 (WRC-03).
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How can this Decision facilitate innovation and the rapid spread of broadband services?

You do not require a licence to gain access to the frequencies made available in the 5 GHz range. In other words anyone, whether for private or public purposes, can install and use equipment overnight as long as this equipment fulfils the protection criteria laid down by Member States following this Decision. Given such easy access conditions, this can be expected to lead to a large number of trials and tests.

P.

oscarBravo

What has to happen for this to transpose into ComReg-land? Does it require legislation (!!) or can (and will?) ComReg take it on board? And when?

Sponge Bob

This is actually a Global , not an EU , decision made two years ago at some world radio shindig that comreg jollied off to for 1 WHOLE MONTH IN GENEVA . After the full month we got ummm dunno , but never mind the EU is reminding them they were there , what !

The slab of spectrum above 5Ghz was never supposed to be licenced although some of it must co-exist with radar systems on trawlers and the like, the gear will have my patented feck right off protocol built in if a radar goes off near it and my patented feck left on protocol error correction thingy when the radar steams off ....as they do.

IBB have already squatted a slab of this spectrum in Dublin I believe

Comreg have been ultra busy with Car Radars and Jesus since that jolly 2 years back , thats the kindest excuse I can give you for this decision not blipping into their Radio Spectrum 'Vision' Statement of recent months.

zuma

I was going to say something nasty about Comreg...but why bother...!!!

Blaster99

The 5.7Ghz spectrum is already open, so this is basically opening up a bit more spectrum in the 5150-5350GHz range? Doesn't sound revolutionary to me, but maybe I'm missing something.

watty

It's not too exciting as 5.3GHz and 5.6GHz are nearly optical LOS only. Much less useful than 2.4GHz.

Point to point link to share BB from/to your mate:
However if you want a rooftop dish on a high pole the same size dish will give nearly 4 times gain at 5.3 than 2.4 and less likely to be wiped out by a nearby WiFi point starting up.

Not much other use. Only much good in an open plan office for WiFi, the 2.4 is better indoors.

daveharlowe

hi,

I think the opening up of this band is important, because it means that nodes which are already using the 5 channels available @5.7ghz for backbone links can now add extra antennae so as to grow/extend the network.

For many community networks, the network usually hangs on very few backbone nodes which become overloaded very quickly, this extra spectrum would allow for better planning/expansion possiblities.

A real world example using cheap wifi-type gear @5ghz is here : http://irishwan.org/board/showthread.php?t=2141

This gear has gotten much cheaper now, for those wanting to setup links in cities, they should buy gear which is capable of the newer frequencies, as the 2.4ghz band is getting so noisy now (for outdoor links) that it is starting to get unusable.

Also, the gear used in the example above already covers the proposed frequencies to be opened up, so all that is needed is the regulatory side to be worked out.

regards,
Dave