It’s a big week for Wi-Fi! Thirty-seven years ago, the FCC did something never done before: it opened up three spectrum bands for unlicensed use. These “junk bands,” previously used for home appliances like cordless phones, were made available for innovators to use, as long as they followed the rules.
Borne out of the FCC’s experiment with those “junk bands” is an incredible American success story: Wi-Fi. The technology sparked a wave of innovations that made life easier, such as baby monitors and garage door openers. The first wireless routers came about in 1988, only three years after the FCC’s initial decision. The iBook, Apple’s first commercially available wireless laptop, was unveiled in 1999. And, in 2008, Apple launched its first iPhone with Wi-Fi capability, leading to a boom in smartphone usage and Wi-Fi devices. Today, Wi-Fi usage continues to grow and is expected to generate $1.58 trillion in economic value for the United States by 2025.
Consider the ways you use Wi-Fi and unlicensed spectrum in your day-to-day life. Do you wake up every morning and check the weather on your smartphone or ask a smart assistant to relay it to you? Do you listen to a podcast over your Bluetooth speaker? And maybe you installed a pet camera to watch your dog sleep even when you can’t be at the house. No judgment. All of those functions, and so many more, utilize Wi-Fi and unlicensed spectrum.
And while Wi-Fi makes our day-to-day easier and more enjoyable, our broader infrastructure relies heavily on Wi-Fi, too. Wi-Fi is crucial to industries like healthcare, education, entertainment and transportation.
Wi-Fi itself has also evolved through generations to keep up with these industry and consumer demands. The newest generation of Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi 6, provides users faster, more energy-efficient and more reliable service. Beyond that, it can support more devices at once and save battery power, allowing it to keep up with the age of “smart” everything — household appliances, security systems and augmented and virtual reality gaming consoles.
But wait, there’s more. In the past two years, the FCC opened up even more spectrum in the 5.9 GHz and 6 GHz bands. Wi-Fi 6E-enabled devices can use this newly available space to cut down on Wi-Fi congestion in the other bands. Hundreds of Wi-Fi 6E-enabled devices are already on the market, offering cutting-edge experiences with smartphones, routers, gaming laptops and more.
But the successes of Wi-Fi won’t stop there. Developers are already looking to the next generation: Wi-Fi 7, which could be over four times faster than Wi-Fi 6. Wi-Fi 7 has the potential to usher in the future of smart cities, self-driving cars and more complex virtual reality landscapes.
Wi-Fi has changed our lives drastically since the FCC’s decision in 1985 to hand over a few “junk bands” for fair use. As we look toward the exciting possibilities of the future, we should remember where we started. Current research suggests that the majority of global IP traffic will soon happen over Wi-FI. As the rest of the world catches up and follows, the United States will need balanced spectrum policy to continue its global leadership and ensure Wi-Fi continues its trajectory as an incredible American success story.