Today while reading my favorite newsletter, I came across a story about the 6 GHz(5925MHz-7125MHz) band. Currently, only ISRO is using this band for satellite purposes.
I thought of digging a bit more into it, but I have found the concept of the frequency band quite confusing. But now I think I have a better understanding of it.
Every country has a regulatory body that governs the use of the radio frequency spectrum, in India that’s the TRAI( Telecom Regulatory Authority of India). The TRAI has been contemplating the use of the 6 GHz band for a while now, here is the whitepaper they released on the topic.
If a spectrum license is acquired by a company, it can use that frequency band in a specific geographical area(called a circle) for a specific period (license validity). Generally, acquiring happens via an auction process.
If a frequency band is unlicensed it means anyone can use it, Wi-Fi operates in the unlicensed spectrum of 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz.
2.4 GHz is used by lot of the devices and hence is quite crowded, like bluetooth devices, microwave ovens, baby monitors etc. This can lead to interference. 5 GHz is less crowded but has a shorter range.
Shorter range because higher frequency signals have shorter wavelengths and hence are more easily absorbed by obstacles like walls. Mathematically -
wavelength = speed of light / frequency
These three options are presented in the paper - Licensed, Unlicensed, and Hybrid.
Bunch of things are happening due to the delay in decision for this. Like Telecom body COAI is seeking a ban of WiFi 6E routers and WiFi 7 products not coming to India like PS5 Pro.
Let’s see what decision the TRAI takes on the 6 GHz band, it will be interesting to see how it plays out.