In April we discussed the encroachment on the unlicensed 5 GHz band, more specifically that Qualcomm has been pushing for using for sharing the 5.1 to 5.8 GHz channels for LTE-U (U=unlicensed). There has certainly been much debate about sharing this spectrum which is commonly used by WiFi, including the most recent 802.11ac standard being used in newer products. The debate has only intensified recently, with big players stepping up one both sides to make their arguments heard on the issue.
Major carriers such as Verizon, T-Mobile and others paid huge amounts of money for their ability to use this spectrum. Thus, for those companies the encroachment on the 5 GHz band, the same band that they depend on for WiFi deployments without even incurring a cost, doesn’t sit well. The WiFi Alliance, along with others, have stated their concern about possible interference and future problems among current WiFi networks. The counter argument by Qualcomm and supporters of the use of LTE-U is that it won’t result in any more interference than the creation of a new WiFi access point would now.
Both sides remain steadfast and the debate does not appear to have a clear answer in sight. The WiFi Alliance is reporting that by September they will have a test plan to in place for examining the exact result of this use of LTE-U; Qualcomm is demanding immediate testing. Hopefully, the results of these tests will ease the debate a some and provide us with some clarity.
The result of this debate could have some major effects on the entire mobile industry. It is without a doubt something very important to keep an eye on for everyone in the industry. Those concerned about the potential effects can provide their comments to directly to the FCC or to your residing state congressmen.
Super inrivmatofe writing; keep it up.