The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has extended the deadline for comments on its proposed expansion of spectrum available for so-called Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure (U-NII) devices.
U-NII devices are used for short range, high speed wireless connections, such as Wi-Fi enabled local area networks used in public places to connect smart phones, tablets and laptop computers to the broadband network. In a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking issued in February 2013, the Commission recommended making available up to an additional 195 megahertz of spectrum in the 5 GHz band for these devices to facilitate broader public access to higher speed broadband communications. In the same Notice, the Commission also proposed a more streamlined equipment authorization procedure for N-III devices.
The Commission has extended its comment deadline in connection with these proposed changes to July 24, 2013, following requests from the Wi-Fi Alliance and the IEEE 802 working group for additional time to provide more fully informed comments.
Read the complete text of the Commission’s original Notice related to U-NII devices.
