On July 13, 2017, after holding a public consultation, the Office of Communication (Ofcom) made the final decision to make the 5.8 GHz band available for Wi-Fi use. This decision was due to a majority of Wi-Fi routers in the UK operate in the 2.4 GHz band, which became congested; impacting broadband performance.
Equipment will be able to operate in these frequencies on the basis that:
• It does not cause or contribute to any undue interference to any wireless telegraphy.
• Such use complies with the interface requirements that form part IR 2030 (Technical specification that was recently updated to
include 5.8 GHz Wi-Fi).
The radiated power limit for this band is 200 mW EIRP, only for indoor operation and requiring the use of DFS. Even if Ofcom received multiple comments about those restrictive limits, they highlighted that their aim was to authorize Wi-Fi use of the 5.8 GHz band on the basis of technical conditions which were the least restrictive, but also appropriately cautious in relation to interference to other services, such as FSS which was already established in UK.
