European Commission approves use of 6GHz band for Wi-Fi 6E

The European Commission has approved the use of the frequency band from 5945MHZ to 6425MHz for Wi-Fi 6E. Member States must make these available for the new Wi-Fi generation by December 1, 2021 at the latest.

Member States must ensure access to the portion of the spectrum from 5925 to 6425MHz. is done on a non-exclusive, non-interference and non-protected basis, i.e. signals may not be disturbed by other uses of the frequency band. The harmonization of the use of the relevant radio spectrum for Wi-Fi 6E has been announced by European Commissioner for the Internal Market Thierry Breton.

The decision follows approval for the use of the 6GHz frequency band by the Electronic Communications Committee in November last year. The move ensures that Wi-Fi 6E devices in Europe are assured of using 6GHz, in addition to 2.4GHz and 5GHz for Wi-Fi. This should reduce congestion for better and more stable connections, and Wi-Fi 6E should be able to offer faster speeds.

Wi-Fi 6E works with channels up to 160MHz wide. With WiFi at 5GHz, a maximum of two 160Mhz channels fit in the released spectrum, Wi-Fi 6E adds three in the available 480MHz. That’s still less than the seven 160MHz channels in the full 1200MHz possible with 6E. In the United States, the full 1200MHz will be released.

Wi-Fi 6E is an extension of the Wi-Fi 6 standard, or 802.11ax, and the most significant change is the addition of 6GHz to the existing two Wi-Fi bands: 2.4GHz and 5GHz. Several manufacturers have already announced network devices for the standard.