One of the central problems with WiFi is, well, there’s only so much space for WiFi signals. WiFi, like everything else, is limited to certain spectrums, and there’s only so much physics can accomodate. The result is slow Internet. But the FCC is acting to free up some spectrum and improve your Internet.
In fact, they’re freeing up a lot of spectrum:
During its meeting today, the five-member commission approved a proposal that will allow 195 megahertz of additional wireless spectrum in the 5GHz band to be used for unlicensed Wi-Fi use. This will increase the amount of available unlicensed spectrum by 35 percent. The commission also agreed to create rules that would streamline the process to use more devices in this upper 5GHz band of spectrum.
Basically, this would mean, once the gear that could use this spectrum was built and installed, faster uploads and downloads, especially on public Wifi systems. This is part of a larger initative by the FCC to get more WiFi spectrum out there.
Of course, the biggest news would be that white space broadband, essentially using TV towers as giant wireless routers to blanket everything in a sixty-mile radius with easily accessible WiFi, has finally gotten approval. That’s likely to be the real game-changer, as basically every struggling TV station can become an Internet service provider and will trigger a revolution in everything from cellular phones to mobile computing.
But, hey, until then, faster WiFi is good.