Use of Standard Power 6GHz in Wi-Fi 7 requires AFC registration with cloud service

[Zarathustra[H]]

This may not be new, but it was new to me.

WiFi-Alliance Announcement:
Wi-Fi Alliance Services announces final approval by Federal Communications Commission of the Automated Frequency Coordination (AFC) system

Some additional information in the Ruckus notes on their R770 AP:
FCC 6 GHz AFC Device Certification Opens New Possibilities for the RUCKUS R770 Wi-Fi 7 AP

Apparently, when the FCC opened up the 6GHz spectrum for non-licensed use, they were concerned about interference with current licensed users.

In order to avoid that, they created two separate transmit power levels for 6Ghz Wi-Fi 7. A low power mode, which is only permitted to be used indoors, and a standard power mode which can be used indoors or outdoors, but only if the location is registered in a cloud service called AFC which confirms and enforces non-interference with local licensed use, and the registered location doesn't interfere with anything.

(So, if you are unfortunate enough to be too close to a licensed 6GHz user, you won't get standard power mode either)

In other words, without use of a cloud service compatible with AFC that reports and collects data about you like your location, antenna patterns, directions they are pointing and who knows what else, you will not be able to use standard power 6GHz Wi-Fi 7.

Just when you don't think things can't get any worse in tech, they have a way of making it even shittier.

I - for one - will never use any cloud service. If that means I don't get standard power 6GHz in WiFi 7, so be it. Even Wi-Fi 6 is way overkill for my application, so I doubt I'll even notice it. Heck, considering I just invested in a couple of Ruckus R650 WiFi 6 (non 6E) AP's, and none of my devices support Wi-Fi, it will probably be many years before I even consider upgrading again. Heck, 802.11ac was working just fine for me. Only reason I upgraded was to get rid of Unifi. I could probably have hummed along with ac for a decade or more without missing newer Wi-Fi standards. Everything important to me is wired anyway. Wi-Fi is only used for trivial lightweight stuff like phones and laptops. Everything that is stationary gets Ethernet. If a device that requires networking doesn't have wired Ethernet (that isn't a phone), I simply don't buy it.

Having been a tech enthusiast my entire life, I really hate almost all developments in tech since 2011. That was the year things went from getting better every yer to turning stupid and dystopian.

 

[GotNoRice]

I don't see the big deal really. The main use-case scenario for 6Ghz WiFi is extra spectrum for crowded apartment complexes, etc. You don't need super high transmit power in an apartment. You still have 5Ghz also for high-speeds, especially if you're somewhere with fewer nearby neighbors.

I'd also be curious to see what 3rd party firmwares do with this.

 

[LodeRunner]

Too bad they couldn't implement it like the DFS channels in 5Ghz, where the unlicensed radio has to detect and backoff/leave occupied channels. But the FCC has to honor and protect licensed use, or what's the point. Spectrum management (and radio spectrum truly is a shared media) is actually one of the few places where I want a central authority where I can complain and they can do something about it, vs having to do the triangulation myself then take someone to court and duke it out there.

The way I would design it is that the AP/controller just queries an API run by the FCC or certified provider and does the position and channel check locally, no account needed. And then if someone gets cute thinking they can block the API end point, it just falls back to limited power mode. And if someone hacks it to run in standard power mode and it interferes, well the FCC is actually pretty good at finding people who step on license holders' bands.

I don't have time to read the links as closely as I need to, but at first pass I'm actually seeing a very limited amount of detail on exactly how it's actually going to work. Like for those Ruckus APs, I don't see if you have to transmit your details to them or if the controller just queries Commscope's platform and makes the determination locally.

 

[Armenius]

I don't see the big deal really. The main use-case scenario for 6Ghz WiFi is extra spectrum for crowded apartment complexes, etc. You don't need super high transmit power in an apartment. You still have 5Ghz also for high-speeds, especially if you're somewhere with fewer nearby neighbors.

I'd also be curious to see what 3rd party firmwares do with this.

Yeah, 5GHz supports up to 1.3 Gbps. Tight control over the 6-8 GHz bands is required because federal agencies like NOAA and NASA use them.