6GHz networks have been available for a while now, with the FCC only opening the band for Wi-Fi and other unlicensed use cases in 2020. The regulatory body is now opening another 850 megahertz of spectrum to low-power devices, enabling fast and largely interference-free wireless transmissions at short distances. Google is excited about this change, as it may allow the company to add some enhanced peer-to-peer data transfer capabilities to its devices.
While parts of the 6GHz band were already available to enable fast Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7 connections, many other and potentially more interesting use cases were thus far not licensed by the FCC. The Commission saysin a press releasethat its new rules “authorize VLP operations in the U-NII-5 and U-NII-7 portions of the 6 GHz band totaling 850 megahertz of spectrum.” This would allow operations “at power levels significantly lower than other unlicensed 6 GHz devices could occur anywhere, indoors or outdoors, without any need for a frequency coordination system,” enabling applications like “advanced augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR), wearable sensors and technologies, and variety of Internet of Things devices.”
Shortly after the announcement, the US Google Pixel Twitter account (or X, if you will) relayed the news to its followers, highlighting that “this band will now be available for high-speed peer-to-peer WiFi communication” and that the FCC’s vote “is a win for Pixel users and American consumers.”
In the short-term, Google might use the newly available spectrum to speed up certain processes like transferring your data to a new device. Android expertMishaal Rahman points outthat Google already nudgesGoogle Pixel 8owners to use a wireless data transfer option to get their data on their new phone. If the company was able to use a fast 6GHz Wi-Fi Direct network for this, the transfer speed could increase significantly compared to what many USB 2.0 or even USB 3.0 cables can offer and might be even better than some outdated Wi-Fi networks.
Some other fields that low-power 6GHz networks could be used in are AR and VR. 6GHz networks offer a lot of data throughput in short ranges, so wireless headsets that are connected with phones or other devices via 6GHz could become more feasible all while using less power. It’s possible that this is technology Google is exploring for use withProject Iris, its attempt at creating AR glasses following the failed Google Glass attempt a decade ago.
Other companies will certainly also take advantage of the new spectrum, with Meta, Apple, and Microsoft working on their own AR and VR applications — not to mention the potential 6GHz offers for the Internet of Things and smart home products. In fact, these companies and many more sent a petition to the FCC as early as 2019 to ask the regulators to open exactly these frequencies to the public.
